


Trials and Tribulations

by belncaz



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Exy, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Historical Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow-ish burn, seth is already dead and appears in flash backs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-12-20 21:44:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11929872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belncaz/pseuds/belncaz
Summary: Evermore is the seat of power for the Moriyama's branch family - and Riko, the second son, has been given nearly free reign of the city.The people who oppose him are captured for a yearly event called the Guard Trials - an ostensible opportunity to earn forgiveness or advancement, but in reality, simply an excuse for Riko to inflict torture on his enemies.The current cohort for the Trials is among the strongest ever assembled, and if they can learn to work together despite each other's secrets and suspicions, they just might stand a chance.





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the “All for the Game” series, I am merely borrowing them.

Rating/warning: M for eventual canon-typical depictions of violence, trauma, and sexuality.

Welcome to chapter 1, I hope you enjoy the story! It's my first attempt at a multi-chap for this fandom so we'll see how it goes, lol.

Chapter 1

* * *

 

The Ravens, a group of soldiers, assassins, and politicians that drew their numbers from the ranks of those indebted to the Moriyama family, had helped their masters rule the city of Evermore for as long as anyone could remember. They were guided by two simple principles: fanatical loyalty and zealous ambition. It made them extremely dangerous and there were few brave enough to question any of their actions. There may have been whispers of something different, a more benevolent time before the Moriyama clan gave their branch family control of the city, but there were few signs of such a thing still remaining.  

The Ravens were all ruthlessly trained and fiercely capable warriors and had been known for that reputation for generations, but this latest cohort had taken their bloodlust to an entirely new level. That was due in part to the leadership of Riko Moriyama, the younger son of Kengo Moriyama, the current lord of the main family. Riko had never met his father or his elder brother Ichirou, and there were some that speculated, privately of course, that he'd gone insane from his jealousy and attempts to catch the main family's attention. His uncle Tetsuji was his guardian, but Riko was rarely reined in. Tetsuji cared only about ensuring the Ravens were feared and powerful as an extension of his own strength.

It was difficult to argue for Riko's sanity when the annual announcement for the Guard Trials was made. The event was touted as a way to earn money and honor, to have crimes forgiven, or favors bestowed.  If you did well you would be taken into the Nest, their seat of power in Evermore, and you could possibly advance your station. It had been true enough once upon a time, but the event had been perverted into something entirely different under Riko's guidance. What wasn't explicitly advertised, even though it was widely known, was that it was a bloodbath hosted for Riko's entertainment and his uncle's ruthless methods of evaluation. The Trials consisted of a two-week gauntlet with Riko and his cronies fighting and torturing those hapless enough to have been captured during a raid, sold to pay debts, or imprisoned for crimes from the smallest petty offence to the grander trespasses of murder and treason. Few survived. Those that did often regretted it.

Everyone that lived in Evermore knew that it was a dangerous time of the year and the air was thick with nervous tension. Travelers avoided the area and many residents tried to gain visitor passes to leave Evermore for the month to avoid being inadvertently caught up in the spectacle in case the participant count was low. Few passes were granted and those that had to remain did their best to stay indoors and draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Nobody knew what would catch one of the scouters’ eyes and make them a target for the Trials.

None of which explained why Neil Josten was in Evermore – and voluntarily at that. Neil was perfectly aware of what Riko was capable of, he’d seen it for himself at a young age. Neil's father was a valued associate for the main Moriyama family, functioning as an enforcer, executioner, and general boogeyman to all in the district. Neil was supposed to belong to them, too, and he had spent time with Riko as part of a test to see if he was worthy enough to live. He and his mother had fled to escape the possibility of execution and tried desperately to keep ahead of the vast network that seemed to trap them at every turn.

He'd had no intention of returning to Moriyama territory. He and his mother had fought too hard and endured too much to make his presence there justifiable. His mother would have likely killed him herself if she’d known of his intention to go to Evermore, especially at this time of year. Except for one thing. His mother was dead now and he needed desperately to get to his uncle, Stuart Hatford. The only way to do that was to pass through Evermore, with its central location and plentiful supply of criminals, Neil needed help to make contact with the only person he could imagine had any interest in helping him survive.

It would occur to Neil, much later of course, and through a haze of pain that seemed encase him like a second skin, that perhaps asking for help from other criminals during a Trial recruitment window was possibly not the most intelligent thing he had ever done. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised by the betrayal, but he had been nonetheless. Or perhaps, more accurately, he’d been surprised that so many castle guards had shown up to arrest him. Neil wasn’t bad in a fight, but even he had limits and the guards had swarmed him – being none too gentle as they fought and eventually captured him. The last thought to cross his mind before he slipped into unconsciousness was that it had seemed like overkill for the heavily muscled guard to punch him once he was bound. He knew nothing else for a long time.

Neil woke to the sensation of tepid water running down his face. He would normally have jolted upright, but his body hurt far too much for such a reaction. Instead his eyes crept open with the hesitancy of not being entirely sure he wanted to know more about his surroundings.

A man was sitting next to him, his eyes dark and kind but with a shadow that spoke of hardship. He had put a damp cloth on Neil’s head, that was the source of the water. Neil’s brain absorbed that the stranger’s clothing, while tattered and worn, still showed remnants of being of high quality.

He didn’t have to ask before the man spoke. “I’m…Fa -...I’m Nicholas Hemmick. Nicky, if you’d rather.”

Neil caught the slight catch, Nicky had been about to say something else before he gave his name. Neil’s gaze took in their location – a darkened holding cell. He was on a crude pallet, Neil could feel the dry straw underneath him and quickly surmised he’d been taken to the dungeon. He could hear voices nearby but his body refused to obey his wish to look around.

Addressing Nicky for the first time, his voice was hoarse – his throat abraded from some unknown impact during his capture. “I’m Neil. Am I right in thinking this is the Nest?”

An abrupt laugh sounded from just beyond Neil’s range of vision and a voice devoid of emotion despite that laugh answered his question, “He wants to know if he’s in the Nest. Charming. Oh yes, you’ve joined the guests of honor, Neil. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Nicky’s shoulders sagged a little as if in defeat. “That’s Andrew Minyard, my cousin. To answer your question, yes, you were captured and brought here to participate in the Guard Trials. Sorry.”

Neil’s lips quirked up and his head started to spin a little. Even as he sank back into unconsciousness, he managed to murmur, “The Nest. Finally.” Whether that was relief, triumph, or something else didn’t matter – few reacted with any semblance of joy to being captured and brought here and anything that didn’t sound despondent was suspicious.

Shocked, Nicky stared down at him in consternation before his eyes flew to search out Andrew in the darkened room. “He must have been hit harder than I thought, he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

Andrew was seated against the stone wall, one arm propped on a raised knee. He was watching their new cellmate, too, but the expression on his face was calculating rather than concerned. “But maybe he does, Nicky. Maybe he does.” He fell silent after that, quickly losing interest in Neil’s unconscious form. They weren’t there to make friends anyway.

Nicky shook his head at the situation as a whole before he flicked a glance over at Andrew’s brother, Aaron. Although Andrew and Aaron were identical, it wasn’t that difficult to tell them apart if you knew what to look for. They both dared the world to offer them something interesting, although neither of them actually expected to find it. Aaron shared his brother’s apathetic expression at the moment, but he had even less interest in Neil – not bothering to spare the slightest glance at the new arrival.

Kevin was the only one that seemed remotely intrigued by Neil’s answer. Neil hadn’t seen him, but Kevin was rarely far from Andrew’s side – he was currently leaning forward next to Andrew, staring intently at Neil as if he could discern the world’s mysteries from his still body.

A labored groan of heavy, stubborn metal being forced to move signaled the others were returning. It took only moments before guards ushered in the others who shared the dungeon quarters. Dan, Matt, Allison, and Renee all looked pained and exhausted, but that was nothing new. All of them were there for so-called crimes against the Moriyama family and were subjected to hours of interrogation, forced labor, or torture. Riko showed a relatively democratic approach to it – he went after all of them as regularly as he could and still keep them in fit enough shape to participate in the Trials. That seemed to be his uncle’s only caveat at least, and it was a line Riko toed with delicate precision after he’d “accidentally” killed Seth during one of their sessions. The lot that had just returned would be healed up by Riko’s choice of physicians and given a clean bill of health before they were summoned again – an unwelcome mercy if truth were told. Nicky and his cousins were up next, along with Kevin, who often seemed to get the worst treatment as Riko’s ex-favorite. It would have to wait to be seen where Neil would fit.

Nicky’s eyes flickered with an additional layer of shamed despair as he took in their bruised and battered bodies. He was a man of faith and prayer but he could find no words of comfort for his fellow prisoners. Renee was the only one who understood his turmoil, her own version of religion a little different from his but similar enough to often find them kneeling together in prayer in the wee hours of the morning – lips moving as close to silently as possible – while they fought the demons tracing their souls the best way they could.

Neil had been brought in while they were gone and so they looked questioningly at Nicky as they registered the new arrival.

“He said his name is Neil. He was only awake for a moment. The guards really did a number on him when they arrested him.”

“Did they announce his crime?” Dan’s voice was hoarse from strain of the day but it wasn’t asked idly. The more they knew about their new resident the better.

Nicky shrugged and held out his hands to indicate ignorance. The guards had merely dumped Neil in the cell and noted the physician would get to him when the others returned.

Kevin’s voice was a surprise but his comment drew all of their attention, “He’s wearing clothes from another territory. He’s not from here.” It was true, Neil’s clothes were in a different style – they hung loosely from his frame and they were in neutral, nearly faded colors.

Andrew scoffed. “Don’t forget he could have been dressing to leave, Kevin. It’s a common enough strategy, especially this time of year.”

Allison, who came from a wealthy family and had some experience with other territories due to her family’s trading business, offered her own opinion. “He doesn’t even have anything like an occupation insignia, if he’s of any status at all I’d be shocked. Probably just unlucky enough to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.” It was a law across all territories to have some marker of your status or occupation and even here in the Nest they were supposed to keep them.  Allison wore the ring with her family’s crest on a ribbon around her throat, but it was shared with her former lover’s. Riko had given her the ring with a cruel smile after he’d killed Seth but Allison had accepted it with a cold silence that promised him death in return if she ever got him alone.

They didn’t have time to speculate any further as the physicians were on their way. Abby was a kind woman who’d been abducted from her home on suspicion of witchcraft – those same skills were now put to use healing those who were subjected to Riko’s tutelage. She tried her best to look after them and be gentle, but her eyes held a bleakness born of seeing too many of their predecessors killed during the Trials. It was her punishment for failing to swear fealty to Riko; he made her tend cohort after cohort of those headed for the Trials, knowing her soft heart would be savaged every time.

David, her colleague who also served as their ostensible advisor during the Trials, was far less gentle but handy for a needed dose of pragmatic wisdom. He could tend to the less serious wounds but his real talent was reminding them – in quiet, fierce bursts of encouragement – that they needed to stay strong and keep fighting. He, too, was here as punishment. Riko’s understanding that David would not give up on those entrusted to his care, but be forced to know the odds against them, was especially cruel.

And then there was Betsy, who somehow managed to radiate an eternal sense of calmness that belied the reality of their situations. Riko had wanted to see if she would break, but so far he’d been denied that joy.  None of them really knew why she accompanied Abby and David, she rarely helped to actually patch them up, but Riko sent her along and so she was there. She had a strange connection with Andrew though, and often spent a few minutes talking with him in a corner that afforded them some privacy. Nobody ever asked what they discussed. It was her habit to walk among all of them, and more often than not she seemed to understand if someone was close to breaking.

Today, however, Betsy stopped by Neil as she made her way around the cell. She stared down at his unconscious expression as if in thought and a secret smile flashed across her face for the briefest of moments. She noted his clothing, as they had done, and saw the excessive brutality that had been used to capture him. Riko was suspicious of this prisoner for some reason, and that made him another interesting one to keep an eye on. She looked over at Andrew and smiled again when she saw him watching her. Betsy nodded and kept moving, but she was resolved to pay attention to Neil when he was awake, she had every expectation that this group – the strongest, if also most fractured cohort of Trial participants she could remember – was about to experience a revolution that would, with any luck, be for the better.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to chapter 2, hope you like it!

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 2

* * *

 

Betsy sat quietly on a low wooden stool and observed Abby and David as they discussed this year’s participants in the Guard Trials once they’d returned to their own chamber. They were always escorted out of the dungeon soon after Abby and David finished treating the injuries – there was rarely time to socialize. Even so, it was difficult not to get attached when the prisoners were all so incredibly charismatic in some form or another. The three of them were technically prisoners as well, but Riko had snidely termed them _indefinite guests_ to exempt them from the Trials proper. They shared a room that was markedly better than the dungeon, but far less than could accurately be deemed comfortable. They had a narrow window at least, even if looked out over the field where the Trials were held. Today it was just an area of well-maintained grass; it would be a while before it began to take on the gruesomely festive air of the tournament.

“I don’t know how many more times their bodies can be put back together.” It was Abby, fretting over their limits – and her own.

“As many as it takes. You don’t have a choice and neither do they.” David’s brand of comfort was rough at best, but he meant well.

Betsy tuned them out for a while as she mulled over the candidates. They always had a mixed bag – from overfed aristocrats who were caught up in the petty squabbles of Riko’s Court to the wiry scrappiness of various miscreants caught up in a raid of the poorer areas. The former could barely hold a sword while the latter didn’t know what to do with one. Somewhere in the middle they usually managed to find a few bodies that were actually capable of lasting more than a few minutes against Riko and his Ravens, but it was never meant to be a fair contest.

This gross imbalance of talent had been called out by visiting nobles and Riko and his uncle had grudgingly allowed for a training period in which the contestants were shown how to fight. It had not improved things in any measurable way except for satisfying the minor flare of conscience from outsiders who watched the travesty unfold.

There was something different this year and Betsy wasn’t sure which of the many threads she could point to as to why. After Kevin had been caught meeting with Andrew Minyard without Riko’s knowledge and refused to offer a satisfactory explanation, Kevin had been tried and found guilty of treason. Andrew hadn’t even bothered to defend himself during his own trial. He’d seemed half asleep for most of it and cheerfully disrespectful for the remainder. The only time he’d shown the slightest concern at all was when Riko, in a clear fit of pique, had labelled Aaron and Nicky as conspirators as well and lumped them in with Andrew’s sentencing. It had taken nearly half of Riko’s contingent of Ravens to hold him back and the raw display of fury had been as impressive as it had been damning. Aaron, a local apothecary, and Nicky, pastor of a small fringe religious movement that was harmless enough – soon joined their relative in the dungeons.

Then Allison’s family had disowned her when she’d accepted Seth Gordon’s proposal. Outraged that a lowly tradesman had dared to reach so high, her parents had insisted Allison never see him again. She’d been deemed a class traitor when she refused to give Seth up and the pair of them found themselves locked in the dungeon before they’d had time to flee. They at least had prior training in combat, but Seth had been killed during one of Riko’s rages and Betsy wasn’t sure if Allison’s spirit would recover in time.

Dan, like so many of the others, had no business there. She’d been a barmaid trying to support her aunt and cousins and from most accounts had been an entirely upstanding citizen. Until rumors surfaced she might do more than simply provide drinks to her clients and she’d been arrested on suspicion of prostitution. Nothing had been proven but it never needed to be in one of Riko’s farces of a trial. Betsy supposed it was appropriate – all defendants were railroaded through a criminal proceeding before they were supposed to defend themselves again during the Guard Trials; both were fraudulent gestures of justice.

Betsy was still unsure about Renee. The young woman had been training to enter a seminary and she was outwardly everything pious and devoted, but there was something in the calm, calculating way she evaluated everything that spoke less of prayer and more of a hardened determination to survive. Betsy had not been surprised that Renee was one of the few of the other participants Andrew would speak to. She just wasn’t sure what it meant. Renee had been brought in for defending someone from one of the Ravens. Betsy didn’t know the full details, only that Renee had used a knife and the other person escaped while the Raven was injured.

A small, sad smile crossed her face as she thought of Matt. He was loyal and strong; his wealthy family should have kept him safe from Riko. However, he, like Renee, had been unable to stomach the Ravens’ lawlessness and had stepped in to defend someone who could not defend themselves. Betsy had no doubt he’d thought nothing of it and he’d gone to his trial unrepentant. His family had lobbied fiercely on his behalf to no avail, but Betsy didn’t think he regretted his actions anyway.

“…Betsy? What do you think?”

She blinked at hearing her name, coming back to the present to see both David and Abby looking at her with some consternation. Waving aside their concerned expressions she said only, “Sorry, I was miles away. What did you ask me?”

David furrowed his brow a little but carried on with the discussion he and Abby had been having, “We’re wondering if Kevin will be able hold up. He still hasn’t told anyone why he went to see Andrew in the first place, but his performance during the practice rounds is terrible – it’s like he can’t move against Riko.”

Betsy nodded. “He’s having trouble adjusting. It wasn’t that long ago that he was on the other side of this. Andrew is sticking by his side though; he wouldn’t do that if there wasn’t something there worth protecting. I think Kevin will rally in the end.”

Abby hummed a moment. “How did you manage to form such a high opinion of Andrew? We don’t get to spend a lot of time with them and he barely speaks to me.”

Betsy laughed. “He’s given me no reason not to have one. He was briefly apprenticed to a family I am close to, he kept to himself and they had no complaints about his work. Andrew left after only a year – he heard he had a brother and went searching for Aaron. I don’t doubt he’s dangerous, and I suspect his moral code would give many qualms, but I believe it is consistent.”

David grunted his agreement. “I don’t know what Kevin went to see Andrew about, but whatever bargain they struck seems to be working for them. Andrew takes a lot of the damage Riko intends for Kevin and laughs while it happens.”

Abby sighed tiredly at that comment. Andrew rarely let her help heal him – he’d take the supplies and do it himself even though she could do it faster. His eyes held distrust for her and there was nothing she could really do about it. “Is it naïve to hope they can pull it off?”

Both Betsy and David paused to consider the question. It was a difficult one to answer. They understood  what brought it on, this was a terrible thing to watch when you knew the odds of your charges being successful was close to nonexistent. They’d been held here for five years now and none of the participants under their care had made it. At the same time, there was arguably something different about the group this time. It was unusual for any of the participants to bond and this year while they had two distinct groups between those that followed Dan and those that followed Andrew, there was still some overlap. There was nothing in the limited rules that prohibited participants from working together, it was simply never an option as everyone panicked or looked after themselves.

“I think it will depend on the newcomer. As it stands, there’s not enough connection between Andrew’s group and the others.” It wasn’t quite an endorsement of their chances, but Betsy’s response still held a cautious optimism.

Abby nodded, it was more than she had a right to expect. “They really went after Neil, didn’t they? I was surprised, usually they wait till a prisoner is captured before exhibiting that blatant of a degree of violence.”

“He was given up by an informant. They knew Neil didn’t have anyone who’d ask about him so there was no need for pretense.” David had heard a guard boasting of it in the hallway and his lips flattened at the memory.

“I think he will be interesting to watch.” Betsy was smiling again.

David raised his eyebrows. “You’re basing that on what exactly? He didn’t even gain consciousness before we left.”

Betsy’s eyes were twinkling. “Just a feeling, David.”

The looks her cellmates sent her weren’t unusual. Betsy knew they found her comments cryptic on occasion and she really couldn’t help it. Betsy’s ability to see into a person was as intrinsic to her as the healing talent was to Abby, she didn’t know how to be anything other than what she was. It was why she was here really. Riko wanted her to use the talent as a human lie detector of sorts, but like Abby, she’d refused to use her skills the way he wanted. She was ostensibly there to inform Riko of any whispers of rebellion, in reality she fed him only the smallest truths.

* * *

 

As the elder trio spoke, those in the dungeon were waiting for Neil to wake up. Thanks to Abby’s skill he had been stirring even before the healer had fully departed, it wouldn’t be too long now. Nicky had retreated back to his cousins’ side of the cell and it left Neil almost literally in the middle of their two groups. When he woke again, he initially thought he was alone from the quiet.

Neil took a mental inventory and realized he felt far less pain than he suspected he should. It confused him because Neil knew he’d been heavily beaten when he was captured. So he moved cautiously as he leveraged himself up on an elbow, ready for the shock he assumed he was in to wear off and all the pain to hit him at once. When it didn’t, he took advantage of the pleasant surprise to look around and saw the others in the cell.

He caught Nicky’s eyes first and the other man nodded tentatively and offered a small wave; he seemed harmless enough. Neil saw twins next to him, he supposed one of them was Andrew since that was the name Nicky had given him earlier, but he didn’t know the other’s name. They gave off an intensity that made Neil wary and he resolved to avoid them as much as he could. He recognized the final person with them and Neil’s eyes widened with surprise to see Kevin Day in the cell. Neil remembered Kevin from his time with Riko before he and his mother fled. He held no fear of Kevin recognizing him, Neil had never been memorable – he’d made it into an art form. Still, he knew Kevin was Riko’s favorite, having been given to Riko as a companion when they were children after Kevin’s mother died. None of these four said anything to him so he kept looking around.

Neil didn’t recognize the three women or the man on the other side of the cell but he was instinctively on guard when he saw the woman with pale hair and a gentle smile on her face. The others were strong, Neil could see it, but only this woman raised his hackles. He looked away quickly in favor of getting a more defensible position – he didn’t like being in the center, exposed.

Rather than try to join either group, Neil pushed himself up and slowly, carefully, made his way to an unoccupied corner of the room where he could still see them. He felt better having something solid against his back. Both factions were content to let him resettle himself; perhaps they understood his motives, or perhaps they simply didn’t care what he chose to do.  Neil didn’t really know what to expect, so when the man who was sitting with the ladies got up and made his way over to him, he watched with all the wariness of a stay cat.

It was possible he sensed Neil’s distrust because he stopped well out of reach and offered a warm, apparently sincere, smile. “I’m Matt Boyd. How’re you feeling?”

Neil appreciated that Matt was keeping a little distance but since he was sitting and Matt was standing, he looked gigantic. It irritated Neil even though he knew there was no point in the emotion. “Neil. I’m fine.”

Matt cocked his head as if waiting for more but quickly realized Neil wasn’t going to embellish his reply. He laughed and shook his head, unbothered by Neil’s brusqueness. “Abby patched you up the best she could so you’re okay, yes. We’ll be given dinner in a little while so if you can, you need to stay awake; they don’t leave extra portions for anyone. You have to be alert to take it when the food comes or they’ll skip you. If you’d like you can join us? That’s Dan Wilds, Renee Walker, and Allison Reynolds,” he pointed to each of the women in turn and they acknowledged Matt’s words with a nod or wave.

Neil’s denial was out almost before Matt’s offer was even finished. “Thank you, but for now I’m just going to get my bearings. I appreciate your advice about the food though.”

“Take your time, it’s not like we’re going anywhere.” Matt’s smile was everything genuine and honest as he accepted Neil’s comment before returning to the ladies. Neil couldn’t remember the last time he’d met someone like this.  He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he started contemplating what to do.

Nicky had shamelessly eavesdropped on Matt and Neil – to his credit, it wasn’t like he could entirely avoid it given the acoustics and close proximity – before turning his attention back to his cousins and Kevin. Pitching his voice lower than he normally would he tried a joke, “Looks like Matt struck out. Maybe I can entice him over here.”

Aaron scowled at his cousin. “Isn’t it enough we’re already prisoners? Do you really have to keep up the weird stuff in here?”

Andrew’s calm, “Leave him alone, Nicky” still held a threatening edge that Nicky recognized and he wisely dropped the subject.

It was Kevin, however, who was not taking his eyes off Neil. He couldn’t explain it, but something tugged at the furthest reaches of his memory and somehow it was connected to Neil.  He didn’t say anything, just kept his gaze trained on Neil as if searching for answers in the stranger’s profile.

Andrew noticed Kevin’s interest and commented, “Do you recognize him? Is he trouble?”

Kevin shook his head. “I don’t know who he is, but something about him seems familiar for some reason. Or he reminds me of something at least. He’s not a Raven though and I don’t believe Riko would attempt the same plan twice.”

Riko had tried this strategy before – getting someone to pose as a new prisoner to try to infiltrate their circle. It wasn’t a bad idea except that Kevin knew all the Ravens and Riko had resorted to an outsider who betrayed the scheme too easily. Kevin still winced when he remembered the man’s terrified look as he’d been dragged away after the guards realized the plan had failed.

Andrew thought that over briefly as he watched Neil’s still form. Andrew didn’t trust Neil but that wasn’t particularly damning of Neil – he didn’t trust easily. Still, he thought it was interesting that Neil didn’t take Matt up on his offer. Neil was alone in a new place that clearly already had well-established camps; for him to stay unaffiliated was either brave or stupid and Andrew wasn’t sure which way to lean yet.

“We’ll keep an eye on him. But Kevin, stay away from him.” Andrew’s words didn’t hold a suggestion; they were as factually commanding as if he were the law itself.

The cell was not quite silent as Matt, Dan, Allison, and Renee spoke among themselves and the stone walls picked up echoes of stray sounds from elsewhere in the castle. It didn’t mean they couldn’t hear when someone was coming and soon enough the dinner rations were brought to them.

It was a serving of soup that looked ominous rather than appetizing and thick slices of a dark bread that would need to be softened in the soup to be edible. They lined up, with Andrew’s group going second. Neil got in line last, behind Nicky and keeping a small but noticeable distance between himself and the man in front. When it was his turn, Neil accepted his portion without comment as the guard grinned tauntingly at him, returning to his corner to eat.

The flavor was atrocious but Neil had been on the run too long to refuse a meal so he simply allowed his bread to turn to mush and consumed the calories with the resigned will to survive his mother had drilled into him from his earliest memories. The resulting texture had all the appeal of bookbinding paste and the smell wasn’t much better than unwashed laundry, but Neil said nothing in complaint. He could tell the guards had been waiting for him to comment, their disappointed faces as he ate in silence told him more clearly than words that they’d been ready to beat him for insubordination.

Everyone ate quickly, Neil noticed their hurry and followed suit, not that the abysmal flavor invited anyone to linger over the meal anyway. He was glad of that haste when the guards soon banged their gauntleted fists against the bars and called for them to return their bowls and utensils. Neil nodded to himself, he’d wondered how they would be trusted to keep potential weapons. It also gave weight to Matt’s earlier warning, if he wasn’t there to get his meal, he wouldn’t eat.

When the guards left – a goading wish for sweet dreams echoing down the corridor – Neil noticed a disproportionate sense of fatigue hit him. He managed to see the others and saw that they were also yawning and swaying so he understood, their food had been doctored with something to keep them sedated at night. They had a choice then, they could eat and be controlled or starve and stay lucid through the night. It wasn’t difficult to imagine that few would actually elect to stay awake after a day here.

Dan, possibly sensing his searching look, called out to him. “You better go ahead and get settled on a pallet, you won’t have long and sleeping on the bare floor is a pain.”

He nodded and moved to stand, he’d left the pallet he’d found himself on before, but there were several unclaimed spots to accommodate more prisoners. There was even one near his chosen corner but it suddenly looked too far away to make it to in time. His body was heavy and light at the same time and his brain refused to send the right signals to get him to where he wanted to go.

Just as Neil could feel his knees buckle, a strong, sturdy presence was suddenly at his side, wrapping one arm around his waist and effortlessly holding him up. He blinked blearily and registered it was one of the twins. Neil was surprised the man was even shorter than he was and as he got a small sense of the man’s aura, Neil idly wondered how so much energy had been contained so compactly. The other man didn’t say anything, just roughly pulled him along the short distance and none-too-gently toppled him down onto the prickly pile of straw.

Neil tried to thank him but the other man was already turning away and Neil didn’t have the reserves to stay awake anyway. His eyes closed without his permission and he was asleep before his rescuer had even returned to his side of the cell.

Kevin watched Andrew return, the effects of the drug worked on him, but far more slowly since he had spent years imbibing it as a Raven. They didn’t work on Andrew at all, though the guards didn’t know that, as he simply pretended to be asleep when they checked.

“Why?” Kevin’s voice was low and thicker than normal, one of the consequences of the potion.

Andrew shot him a reproachful look as he resettled on his pallet but he didn’t answer Kevin’s question. “Go to sleep, Kevin. I’ll keep watch.”

Kevin nodded, it was something he’d ask again later. For now, he could feel his body slowing down and he stretched out on his bed, secure in the comfort of Andrew’s promise.

Nicky was on his side and he’d watched this exchange as well. He, too, was curious as to why Andrew would help Neil. It was not often that Andrew exerted himself if it wasn’t strictly necessary. It gave him hope though, that maybe Andrew wasn’t entirely lost to them. Nicky knew they most likely didn’t have a lot of time left, but he clung to a desperate hope that they would manage to reconcile before it was too late.

The next thing Nicky knew was Renee gently shaking him awake.  She usually managed to cast off the enforced sleepiness at some point after midnight and would sometimes rouse him for prayer, it seemed like tonight was one of those occasions. Nicky was never sure how she did it, he only knew that Andrew was always watching when he woke up and it gave Nicky a small sense of peace to know it.

“Nicky? Would you like to join me?” Nicky knew that sometimes Renee couldn’t wake him, but when she did, it was always with that invitation.

It took Nicky a moment for his brain to defog a little but he nodded. It wasn’t that they were the only two of faith, Nicky knew that Dan and Matt at least prayed sometimes, but he and Renee were different. Nicky had been raised in a deeply religious household and although he’d broken away from the faith of his childhood when they wouldn’t accept his partner, Erik, he still held on to a faith of his own choosing. Nicky didn’t know all of Renee’s background, but he knew she had turned to her path to seminary only after many years of violence. It didn’t matter, they shared enough to recognize one another here.

He got up and they made their way to a small alcove within their cell. The dungeon ran most of the length of the castle, with some portions walled off into private cells or other rooms that they hadn’t seen. The cell that they were all currently held in was large, it could easily hold more than twice the current occupancy with room to spare and its layout contained several smaller nooks. It was a vestige of times before Riko when prisoners were treated with at least a minimal courtesy and allowed prayer niches and access to a privy. The privy at least was there, but all other accessories had been stripped.

Renee and Nicky would not have likely come into contact with one another if circumstances hadn’t forced them together like this, but their friendship was genuine even so. These sessions were never terribly long; they couldn’t fight the natural tiredness of their bodies let alone that added in by whatever their jailers put in the food. Yet when they knelt by an abandoned alcove that had formerly held a devotional image of one deity or another, they weren’t focusing on the particularities of their religion. It was instead a moment they shared in together – of vulnerability and hope – that marked them as the secret-keepers for their respective groups.  

They ended every vigil with a soft handshake, an acknowledgement of sorts, and went back to their respective beds. Andrew’s eyes followed them both. He never interfered even though he’d made his opinion of their ritual plain enough. When Nicky settled back down, he had a moment’s clarity to ask Andrew, “Why did you help Neil?”

Andrew turned his gaze to Neil’s sleeping form for a moment. It was the same question Kevin had asked, so Nicky didn’t really expect a different answer, but he got one.

“A one-time favor, Nicky. We have few enough choices in here without suffering the indignity of a drugged fall. He didn’t know how quickly it would hit him. Tomorrow he’s on his own.” Andrew’s reply was mild, it meant nothing to him, but in that emptiness was the secret to Andrew – a distaste for the loss of freedom they were suffering and the strange moral code that he held inviolate.

If Nicky had possessed the energy he would have asked for more, but he didn’t. He only knew that Neil, despite his relative silence and avoidance, had somehow caught their attention. Nicky didn’t know what it meant, but he suspected Neil’s first training session was not going to be uneventful.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 3

* * *

 When Neil woke up, he realized he was developing a rather alarming habit of returning to consciousness and seeing others alert and staring at him. It was not a comforting realization. Scrambling up so he was no longer prone, he quickly rubbed the lingering sleep from his eyes and got the wall to his back again. Neil noticed a variety of glances shot his way from the casual to the disinterested, but he avoided Kevin’s searching look by keeping his attention elsewhere.

The woman who’d been introduced as Renee offered him a calm smile. “Are you alright? Sometimes there are lingering effects from the sleeping potion, it seems to have different consequences for everyone.”

Neil nodded. “I’m fine.” It was true enough, given their circumstances.

This was met with another smile before she left him alone. They weren’t waiting long before the guards arrived with breakfast. The two groups lined up as they had the night before, receiving bowls of something that might have been porridge and a few small, flat squares that Neil recognized as hardtack. He gave a small sigh and dunked one square into the bowl. He’d have to hope it softened enough to chew.

Matt’s cheerful, “Don’t worry, Neil – there’s nothing added to this, not even flavor” was met with a few fleeting smiles from his group members and scowls from the guards, one of whom took a threatening step toward him before Matt shot the man a cool, unworried look.

Neil didn’t respond and Matt shrugged, returning to his own meal. Neil noticed that while those seated with Matt reserved some of their hardtack by placing it on a small niche, those seated with Nicky, Kevin, and the twins – he still didn’t know both of their names – scrambled to eat the whole portion. Neil hesitated, trying to guess which path he should follow. He looked at Nicky, who made a small _hurry_ gesture with his hand and Neil nodded, mushing all of the hardtack into the porridge and began working on scooping out manageable mouthfuls as quickly as he could. Matt was right, there was no flavor in what he ate, but it was preferable to being drugged as they’d been at dinner.

When he was finished, there was an uncomfortable heaviness in his stomach but Neil closed his eyes briefly and concentrated on breathing as he tried to let his body process the necessary calories. He didn’t have long before the guards called for the bowls to be returned. 

The next thing he heard was an unhurried, “Aaron, Andrew, Kevin, Nicholas, and…Neil, it’s time for training.” The bored way they were summoned by the guard indicated he didn’t anticipate any trouble from them. And sure enough, they lined up, Neil now looking between the twins, trying to determine who was who. He put it aside for now, if he survived long enough for it to matter, he’d worry about their identities later.

Andrew was not terribly surprised that Neil was brought along with his group that morning since the others had been in training when Neil had arrived. Riko said he like to alternate their sessions so he could give them enough individualized attention.  Andrew kept watch on the newcomer, assessing the way Neil’s eyes seemed to be mapping routes and landmarks as they made their way through the warren-like contours of the dungeon up to the practice area. He gave a mental shrug, it wasn’t up to him to tell Neil that an escape was unlikely, Neil would have to figure that one out on his own.

Although he didn’t have a direct confirmation of this, Andrew rather suspected that the guards found their silent procession unnerving. Dan, Matt, Renee, and Allison usually exchanged at least some words of encouragement along the way – their whispers echoed down the hallway as they departed on their mornings. Andrew’s group didn’t bother. They all knew what they were in for and no amount of optimism would change the agonizing experience that was forthcoming. The only real sound was that of their footsteps and the harsh exhales of Kevin’s breathing.

Neil followed the others when the guards indicated he should. He was next-to-last in line with one of the twins behind him, but Neil didn’t expect that would save him from anything when they arrived. He knew where they were and guessed at the reason they’d been summoned from the dungeon. Riko’s supposed benevolence in training participants was a widely known threat. He was more focused on trying to suppress his aura, he didn’t want Riko to recognize him.

The guards ushered them through the maze and stopped at a door that featured a heavy lock. Neil eyed it critically, it would take more than was currently at his disposal to pick if this was the same style throughout the castle. Soon enough the door opened and they were pushed through into light that seemed nearly blinding after the darkness of the cells. Neil could tell the others had stopped just outside the door, presumably to allow their eyes to adjust before they had to deal with whatever awaited them on this side of the barrier. Their ears were assaulted with sounds of grunts and groans and the clank of swords against armor, and the metallic smell that could have been either blood or the blades.

The Ravens were formidable, there was no disputing that. Tetsuji Moriyama oversaw a demanding training regimen for them and it showed in the fierce exchange of blows, rapid footwork, and skilled evasions as they practiced. Too well trained to stop at the prisoners’ arrival, they kept going in drills that had become nearly second nature to them, with two exceptions. Tetsuji and his nephew, Riko, both halted their activities and made their way over.

Neil hadn’t seen either of them in many years but he’d have had no trouble knowing who they were even without their vicious air of authority. Tetsuji had his trademark walking stick, his perfect posture and agile gait testament to its decorative status. Or, Neil corrected himself, not merely decoration, as Neil had seen Tetsuji use it to discipline Kevin once. Riko had his tattoo – a stylized number one – on his cheek. Neil remembered rumors circulating of Tetsuji recruiting a highly famed artist to mark his nephew and Kevin. Tattoos weren’t uncommon in the varying territories, but these were unique for all their simplicity.

Riko had removed his helmet as he approached, thrusting it at one of the Ravens without even looking to see who would take it, assured in the knowledge they would be ready to obey his demands nearly before he made them. As Riko advanced, the smile that took shape on his face reminded Neil of his father – it was everything predatory and cold. He stopped at his uncle’s side and waited for the older man to speak.

They didn’t have to wait long. Tetsuji ignored the rest of them in favor of keeping his attention on Kevin. When he spoke, his voice was calm and even among the wild background noises, and Neil realized he reflexively strained to hear.

“Kevin Day. Let me look at you.” It was an invitation coated in steel and you’d have to be an idiot to mistake it for anything other than a command.

Kevin’s brief tremor of fear was understandable but he managed to walk forward. Riko turned his head to smile tauntingly at the twin next to Neil and with an idle wave at some of the Ravens he called out his own order. “Restrain Kevin’s pet, if you would be so kind.”

Neil was astounded at the number that rushed forward and one of the twins was already barreling forward to meet them with swinging fists and bruising kicks, seemingly uncaring of how his own flesh met with metal and leather. Even so outnumbered, they didn’t subdue him easily, and his eyes promised murder if they relaxed their guard.

Tetsuji watched all this impassively, content to wait until he could return his attention to Kevin. “Are you ready to return to us and resume your proper place?”

Kevin’s quiet, “No, master. I cannot,” was received with a nod and Tetsuji moved from seeming perfect stillness to a whirl of motion as he wielded his walking stick at Kevin – beating his former ward with a precise brutality that spoke of long-standing familiarity with Kevin’s limits. He kept going well after Kevin’s knees gave way and he’d fallen to the ground.

Neil’s eyes widened with surprised disbelief and he found himself taking a protesting step forward almost against his will – stopped only by the prick of a blade against his throat and a lazy threat issued in an accent Neil recognized from his time in the territories, “No, my friend. You cannot help Kevin and it will only be you on the ground next to him if you interfere. Don’t worry, you’ll have your time with the master soon enough.”

Neil could hear the captured twin still struggling against the guards holding him but he saw Nicky move slightly to the side and he was shaking his head wildly at Neil in a clear warning even as Neil felt a sharp pain at his throat. Neil looked back at the man who’d just issued the small wound. He had the number three on his cheek, so it was no challenge to realize that this was Jean Moreau.

Jean raised an eyebrow at him. “I knew we had a new guest but I didn’t think we could find any less intelligent that those already in our care. Consider this your first training tip, with my compliments: don’t look away from someone who has a blade to your throat.”

Neil could feel a slow trickle of blood slide down his skin, it wasn’t a deep cut, it hadn’t been meant as one, it was simply Jean threatening him. Neil stared back at him and murmured in the language of Jean’s home territory, “I won’t forget your kindness with this lesson. I will see it returned to you.” It was a warning among many lands but in Jean’s homeland, it was considered far weightier – it was a promise.

Jean’s blade didn’t waver, but his eyes narrowed and he replied in the same tongue, “If fate sees fit to bless me with my reward before my time, it won’t be by your hands.”

Neil’s smile was fierce and the coldness that went into his eyes was only an echo of his father’s, but it was still powerful enough that Jean dropped his blade and retreated.

Tetsuji had finished with Kevin and was watching this exchange. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, stepping over Kevin’s body as if Kevin were merely a bump in the lane, and made his way over to Neil. He looked over at Riko and with a small tilt of his head indicated their next target.

Riko spoke first. “Our informant says you gave your name as Neil Josten. Where are you from? Josten is not a common name in Evermore.”

Neil stared at him but remained silent, even he was surprised as his rebellion.

Tetsuji’s, “A word of advice as you are new. You win nothing by defying us. You just might survive by obeying. It makes no difference to me which choice you make,” didn’t contain the slightest hint of a bluff. Neil could tell from the indifferent way Tetsuji surveyed him that the older man was sizing him up and he didn’t expect there to be much of interest in Neil.

“He knows my homeland’s language, master. He speaks it with a slight accent, but it has the flow of a native speaker, he’s spent at least some time in the north.” Jean was staring at him with a focus that seemed disproportionate to the comment.

Tetsuji didn’t acknowledge Jean directly, keeping his hands folded over the top of his walking stick and staring speculatively at Neil. “At least two languages then. A spy, perhaps?”

When Neil didn’t answer, Tetsuji smiled with something like appreciation. He waved expansively toward the training yard. “Let’s see what you’re made of then. If you survive today, we will speak again.” With that he dismissed Neil from his mind and turned to Andrew, still glaring and straining.

“And you, Andrew, are growing tiresome. Surely you should know by now you cannot protect Kevin.” Seeing only a stubborn fury in Andrew’s eyes, Tetsuji nodded. “You’ll partner with Neil today, since it seems the two of you are too stupid to know better.”

Looking around he called out his orders, “Aaron and Nicky, you’re with Jean. Andrew and Neil,” he paused and smiled again, “you’ll work with Riko today.” Glancing over at Kevin, who was still on the ground and breathing shallowly, blood pooling around him in places. “And someone clean that up.”

At Tetsuji’s words, the guards restraining the twin Neil now knew to be Andrew released him. Neil was a little taken aback that Andrew’s first action was not reprisal toward those that held him, but instead heading straight for Kevin. He squatted next to Kevin and carefully, with far more gentleness than Neil expected, ran his hands through Kevin’s hair, likely checking for cracks in his skull. He didn’t wait for one of the Ravens, instead he managed to pull Kevin to the relatively safety of the sidelines.

Andrew didn’t bother wiping his hands clean of Kevin’s blood, he merely advanced toward Riko with the other man’s death in his eyes. That he didn’t take Riko’s head off with the punch he landed was Neil’s only shock at first. That it devolved from there into an aggressive brawl between the two men seemed logical, though the fact nobody tried to break them up gave Neil pause as he started to try to help Andrew. Neil looked around, Aaron and Nicky were working together trying to fend off Jean, they had been given wooden staffs to counter Jean’s sword. The sword’s gradual but persistent chipping into the wood spoke volumes about their chances. The other Ravens had halted their own exercise and simply watched the battles.

One of the Ravens tossed Neil a staff of his own and with a smile that belied the apparent kindness, nodded in Andrew's direction, “Don’t you want to help him?”

Neil caught the staff instinctively and gripped it tightly as his lips flattened indecisively. This went against everything Neil’s mother had ever taught him – don’t stand out, don’t get involved, it was always _don’t_ , _don’t_ , _don’t_ : there was nothing in her litany of warnings to urge him toward the fight and everything that demanded he stay back. Mary was dead now, yet the sharpness of her fear was still familiar to Neil because now it was his own.

Altering his grip, Neil exhaled to steady himself and reevaluated Riko and Andrew. Riko was well-fed, well-trained, and well-defended by his armor. Neil couldn’t speak for whatever training Andrew might have, but he knew Andrew lacked the other two qualities. The only real advantage Andrew possessed at the moment was the momentum of his rage and the fact Riko wasn’t using his sword. He nodded to himself, that was why the Ravens weren’t interfering. Still, he needed to be careful, he could just as easily hurt Andrew and Neil didn’t want that bloodlust turned in his direction.

Taking a few cautious steps forward, with the Ravens calling laughing taunts his way all the while, Neil moved closer. His moment to intervene came unexpectedly, when Riko used the power of his gauntleted fist to send Andrew back several steps. Rather than go for Riko’s head – Neil wasn’t suicidal and knew that as the prisoners, they wouldn’t be allowed to deal any real harm to their captors and survive – he slid the staff in a hooking motion between Riko’s ankles as Riko began to step toward Andrew. The speed with which Neil was infamous for in certain circles served him well here, as he sped forward to trip Riko and then danced back to buy himself some defensive space. It depended on your perspective whether Neil was lucky with that move, or if he’d done so with skill. The relative merits of his strategy aside, it at least gave Andrew a slight breather while Riko reacted.

The fact Riko didn’t fall was testament enough to the strength of his body and his reflexes, but the fury in his gaze as he looked in Neil’s direction didn’t reassure Neil that he’d made the right choice not to smash the staff against Riko’s head. Seeing Riko draw his sword and advance in his direction confirmed it. Now Neil didn’t bother to look at Riko’s face, he divided his attention between his feet and his arms. He knew Riko was angry, he needed to know which way he’d move.

“You dare…” Riko’s voice held venom and the privileged disbelief that was embedded within his bones as one of the elite even as he trailed off rather than finish his sentence.

Neil didn’t even have to think before he was moving, searching for a way to escape the slashing blows that Riko’s sword traced through the air as he sought to make contact with Neil’s body. He knew he looked ridiculous, running from a man with a sword like this, but Neil wasn’t just going to stand meekly and wait for Riko to deliver a death blow.

He felt a sharp pain across his back, the crack in the air letting him know someone had wielded a lash of some kind. He gritted his teeth and kept moving, but he didn’t get far as the Ravens began closing ranks and the circle got smaller and smaller.

Soon enough Neil was trapped and Riko’s dark eyes promised him countless agonies as he advanced. Neil couldn’t keep track of how many times Riko hit him or sliced at him – the seeming thousands of sharp stings and heavy blows crawled over him in a repeated wave of hot, deafening pain. He didn’t know why it stopped, or even if it did, only that he saw blooms of crackled darkness before he faded into oblivion.

Neil woke in agony again, he couldn’t begin to categorize everything that hurt and decided it was simpler to acknowledge that everything did. He knew his lips were cracked and dry and his throat on fire and bruised.  He heard whispers around him but Neil’s brain was too muddled to process them, he couldn’t contribute to any conversations at the moment anyway and he slipped back to sleep before anyone noticed him.

Dan’s worried, “This is the first time I can remember Riko refusing to let Abby heal someone after a session” earned her a incredulous look from Aaron.

“He shouldn’t have interfered.” Aaron’s pained whisper was due to the retribution that had come their way when Riko had finally been pulled off punching Neil’s unconscious body by his uncle’s order – he’d turned his attention to Nicky, Aaron, and Andrew. While they had been healed, the guards had pointedly blocked Abby’s access to Neil, staring her down with implacable coldness until she’d given up and exited the cell with David and Betsy at her heels.

Nicky was in some lingering pain, too, but he tried to defend Neil. “He didn’t know, Aaron. They told him he was partnered with Andrew, he probably thought he was supposed to help.”

The look Aaron sent Nicky said he didn’t think much of that explanation.

Renee was looking at Neil with a discerning eye. “I think if he can make it through the night and he is very careful tomorrow during his off day…” she didn’t finish, because what was there to say? That he’d be returned to Riko’s care for another round without the benefit of being healed?

Kevin, who was barely hanging on himself after today’s session coughed harshly. “Riko won’t let him have an off day and you know it. For the moment, he’s even more enraged at Neil than he is at me or Andrew.”

Renee bit her lower lip and nodded her understanding.

Allison stared at all of them for a moment before getting up and beginning to drag some of the unused pallets closer to Neil.

“Allison?” Matt’s confusion was evident even in the single word.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and shot him a scornful look. “He’s one of ours now, isn’t he? If he doesn’t make it through the night, then I’ll be damned if he goes alone.” The tight edge of grief that spilled through her defiant words reminded them that they hadn’t been allowed to be with Seth when he was murdered. Neil had far less of a connection to them, but he had still tried to help despite that.

Renee smiled, one of her soft, mysterious smiles that she seemed to reserve just for Allison, and got up to help with moving some of the pallets closer. Allison didn’t bother including Andrew or his group in her statement, she didn’t expect them to join her even though Neil’s injuries had been accrued during his session with them.

Nicky hesitated, glancing over at Andrew as if asking permission. He received a heavy, blank look in response – Andrew didn’t care what Nicky did but Andrew wasn’t joining them. Nicky interpreted that as he liked and pulled one of the straw mats over, just at the edge of the small ring that was forming around Neil.

Kevin spent some time looking back and forth between the group around Neil and Andrew. Andrew didn’t seem to be paying attention but after a few more prolonged stares from Kevin, he sighed with clear exasperation. “You’re staring so hard I can feel it. Go ahead and join the vigil if you must.”

Kevin frowned and didn’t immediately take Andrew up on the offer. He leaned closer to mutter, “You said he spoke to Jean? In his language?” Kevin spoke it, too – Jean had taught him during their years together in the Ravens, but it was a rare language for someone this far south to speak. Neither Riko nor Tetsuji spoke it and had forbidden both Kevin and Jean from its use. The only reason Jean had escaped punishment today was their focus on Neil.

Andrew shot him a bored look. “I already told you he did.”

Kevin drew back slightly but he was clearly still worried. “Why do you think he tripped Riko?”

Andrew shrugged. “Nobody said you had to be smart to get conscripted for the Trials, Kevin. He either panicked or truly thought he could help. Neither quality is one that will serve him well if he survives the night.”

Aaron’s “Which is a big if. I didn’t think Tetsuji was ever going to stop him,” was quiet. He’d been an apothecary long enough to know when someone was gravely injured or ill.

Andrew leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. “He’s a fool. Tetsuji was simply waiting to see if Neil had a hidden talent; if he does, he should have used it to save himself. The only reason his uncle even bothered to stop Riko at all is that it would be too suspicious for two of us to die before the Trials. Even Riko’s fancy visitors would suspect something’s amiss with this farce."

They all fell silent, lost to their own thoughts. When the guards brought dinner, they looked askance at the grouping huddled around Neil but said nothing about it, there was nothing there to concern them. They doled out the evening’s rations with a cavalier attitude that was as unwelcome as it was expected. After the guards left, as most of them succumbed to the nightly dosing and were yawning into their hands, Andrew’s glance turned to his cellmates.

Andrew caught Renee’s eye and she waved sleepily, he nodded in return. He indulged in a minor spat of sardonic amusement at the thought that despite Allison’s attempt at bravado, if Neil did die that night, it was most likely to be only Andrew who would be awake to mark it. He banished the thought quickly enough. Neil irritated him on principle, but he didn’t wish the man dead. He thought back to today’s training, and of how quickly Neil moved and how he’d managed a few skilled swings with his staff before the Ravens closed ranks around him. Their newcomer had some secrets, it would seem. If he survived long enough, he might well become interesting.

 

* * *

 

Tetsuji watched as his nephew stormed around the chamber in a childishly blown up temper. He was used to Riko’s unbalanced reactions and idly thought that he might need to do something about it eventually. For now, though, Riko was keeping it together in public and doing his duty as a rising star for the branch family.  Tetsuji waited patiently for Riko to stop his angry pacing but after another half-bell had sounded and Riko had begun to repeat himself, Tetsuji held up his hand in a bid for silence. He was gratified that Riko was still sensible enough to obey the command.

“Enough, Riko. You avenged the slight, calm yourself. If the insolent pup should live through the night, you will have the opportunity to remind him of the lesson if you wish. But first, I will speak to him again. If he lives, we need to know more about him. If he doesn’t, we’ll blame that Minyard creature and say he attacked a fellow contestant. I know our Ravens will support the story and nothing will get out to contradict us.” His commentary was meditative, he’d seen no real reason to worry about the newest recruit to the Trials, but he did wish Riko would be a tad more judicious. They enjoyed considerable privacy from the public, but they couldn’t be entirely reckless. If the main family should discover what Riko was capable of…well, Tetsuji didn’t like to think of what that would mean for either of them.

“Should we send the healers to him, then?”

His uncle sent him an unconcerned look. “No. If he lives we’ll use it as an incentive for him to talk. Mercy is only meaningful when it is strategic, Riko. Otherwise you are simply seen as weak. He’ll keep, or he won’t. But until he becomes worth saving, there’s no need to waste resources on him.”

The smiles they exchanged were mirror images of callous cruelty and they both went to their respective beds without the slightest twinge of conscience.

Jean was another story, however. He couldn’t sleep right away. It had been so long since he had heard his own language from anyone except Kevin, and even that had vanished once Riko had sent Kevin to the dungeons. It didn’t matter that the stranger had promised him harm – the nostalgia he’d felt at hearing the words had still been like a simultaneous wound and the balm to heal it. Jean couldn’t help but wonder who the stranger was and why he’d come to this area. He traced the number three on his cheek and realized he couldn’t remember what his parents looked like. He stared up at the ceiling, the room was pitch black at night and Jean couldn’t actually see anything, but he scoured his memory trying to recall their faces. When he finally fell asleep, his dreams were filled with faceless shadows that chased him toward even greater monsters –  he was caught between two evils and he couldn’t save himself from either of them.

Jean would not be alone in thinking that nighttime at Castle Evermore invited dangerous thoughts. However unexpectedly, Andrew was considering the same thing as he watched over his family and wondered what it would cost him in the end to truly save them. But then he smiled – it was all academic, wasn’t it? He’d made a promise, he would keep it.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome to chapter 4! I hope you like it ^.^

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 4

* * *

  

The agony that encompassed Neil’s body was reassuring, in its way. If he hurt this much, he had to still be alive. He managed to open his eyes and was briefly confused by the level of darkness and quiet that his senses registered. Hadn’t he just been in the sunlight and surrounded by Riko and the Ravens attacking him? Neil could hear what sounded like steady, even breathing and an occasional shift that resulted in rustled clothing and straw, but there was no conversation, no significant signs of movement. It must be night, then, and he was back in the dungeon. He knew that the evening meal was laced with sedatives, so Neil didn’t expect any immediate trouble from the others.

Neil managed to take a steadying breath but it cost him; the sharp, jagged pain that shot through him could only be from cracked or maybe broken ribs. He didn’t particularly want to take any further inventory but he had little choice as his body seemed to rush to register all of the injuries at once. Neil’s instincts told him to find a safe haven and heal, however, his brain scorned that idea with the immediate counter that he had little choice but to stay where he was.

It took more of an effort than he cared to admit as Neil raised his head and slowly tried to double check his surroundings. He saw that for some reason, several of his fellow prisoners had dragged pallets around him and were fast asleep with him in the middle of their circle. Neil saw little purpose in their having done this and it now made his job that much harder. Lowering his head back to the floor was less an act of will than it was an inevitable loss of control.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to regulate his breathing in an effort to enter a mild trance. It used almost every ounce of discipline at his disposal but when he finally succeeded and could reconnect with his talent, it felt like every genuine smile he’d ever seen was washing over him in pulses of healing warmth. Neil couldn’t stop the single tear that escaped from the corner of his eye as he started healing himself – the choking relief that he could still do this was nearly more than he could process.

Neil doubted he had enough strength to do a complete job, so he directed the waves toward what felt the most serious. His ribs knit back together and the pressure in his head eased – offering him more precision as he went. As was his habit from past experience, Neil didn't ignore the sharp pains inside of his body. His mother had warned him early on that sometimes it was the damage you couldn't see that was deadlier than what was outside. It had turned out to be prudent advice more than once and Neil wasn't foolish enough to concentrate on the bruising and cuts with his mother's brusque rules racing through his head.

What Neil didn’t know, couldn’t have known really, was that Andrew was awake and watching, having caught Neil’s slight movement in his peripheral vision. Andrew’s smile was halfway between curious and cunning as he turned his head to see what had caught his eye and watched a soft, silvery glow emanate from Neil’s body. He didn’t interrupt but began drumming his fingers over his knee as he waited.

Neil had no notion of how long it took; he simply didn’t stop until he could at least take a breath without something protesting. Having to dip into his energy stores on top of the initial injuries had left him weakened, and he’d have given nearly anything for a sip of water, but it wasn’t a luxury he could indulge. Instead he turned to his side and began carefully trying to leverage himself up enough to stand. He was being cautious, he didn’t want to aggravate his remaining injuries any more than necessary and he certainly didn’t want to accidentally wake anyone up. Moving as stealthily as he could manage, Neil headed for the pallet at a far wall he’d claimed yesterday. His limbs didn’t cooperate as easily as he’d hoped they would – he’d never been the best at healing. Having to do so much on such low reserves meant his efforts were even less effective than normal.

Collapsing against the wall, Neil was relieved to have some distance between himself and the others. It was always harder for him to use his talent when people were too close – he felt their energies trying to reach out and it was usually a messy, distracting ordeal to keep them away. He hadn’t had a choice tonight though and so he accepted the additional strain with the pragmatic resignation that it had been out of his hands. The coldness of the stone wall against his back was simultaneously soothing and uncomfortable – easing the inflammation of his bruises even as it poked against them. His eyes were closed as he sank into the feeling, not noticing a shape moving toward him in the shadows until he felt a hand close around his throat – not exerting quite enough pressure to hurt, but definitely letting Neil feel the potential strength of the grip.

Opening his eyes, Neil was somehow unsurprised to see one of the twins crouched in front of him. When the man registered he had Neil’s attention, he smiled – a quick flash of teeth that was closer to a snarl than anything truly humorous.

“How can you still use magic here, Neil? Are you a spy after all?” The line of questioning didn’t make sense to Neil, and his confusion must have shown but the hand at his throat squeezed a little in warning.

“You shouldn’t be able to move at all, let alone cross the room. I saw you heal yourself.  I can only surmise that you have something that exempts you from the nullification spell and the only way you'd have that is if you'd been given it ahead of time.” An angry light flashed through his eyes and Neil could see that he was prepared to gain the answer from Neil's last breath if necessary.

Neil reached up a hand and covered the wrist at his throat but didn’t try to pull the hand away. “I’m not a spy. I don’t know why I can still use my gift, I didn’t even have a chance to think if I could, I was hurting too much not to try.” His voice was hoarse, his throat was dry and abraded from earlier. Strangely, despite that discomfort, Neil was more focused on the fact he couldn’t really feel any invasive energy. He didn’t know if he was currently too weak to register it or if the man in front of him simply had better control than most.

Andrew’s expression was scrupulously empty by the time Neil finished speaking but Neil could feel the tension in his fingers as they tightened for a moment and then carefully loosened, knocking Neil's hand away as he went. Andrew moved back a fraction and sat so he could stare at Neil through the dark. He wouldn’t normally be able to see Neil this well but Neil was still glowing slightly – something that might amuse Andrew in other circumstances, but not now. In this moment, the faint halo that made Neil seem more of a phantom than a prisoner was a reminder of his own frustrated effort to summon magic, and Andrew wanted the secret for how it was done.

Andrew exhaled harshly before he spoke. “We’ve all tried to use our talents here, of course anyone would, wouldn’t they? Nothing’s come of it except that the sleeping potion they give us at night doesn’t work on me. Riko and his Ravens can use theirs, and somehow Betsy, Abby, and Wymack can use their skills a little when they’re here. They either don't know how or aren't telling us. Yet you fixed yourself up almost as well as Abby might have done. If not a spy…what makes you so special, Neil?” His voice had gradually gone quieter as he’d carried on and that last was nearly a whisper.

Neil shook his head, slowly in deference to the lingering soreness. “I don’t know.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Are you Aaron or Andrew?”

He received only a question of his own in reply, “Can’t you guess?”

Neil was startled into a small laugh that he immediately regretted. “Andrew then.”

“What makes you say so?”

Neil waved a hand as if dismissing the question. “I remember the obstinacy that Andrew showed during the Ravens’ practice, you seem to have it in droves.”

Andrew shrugged. “Perhaps. But this is about you, Neil, not me.” He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Is that why you stepped in today? You knew you could heal yourself? You’re a fool if so, Riko or his uncle will want to know why you’re better when they denied Abby’s expertise to you. You’ll lose your advantage before you have time to make use of it.”

Neil held up a hand and stared at it, noting the last remnants of the glow before it faded.  “I don’t think it’s an advantage, they're not afraid of losing. I never had a reason to think about this before, but I can only assume that the public doesn’t know prisoners can't use their talents during the Trials. Or at least it's not allowed until the event itself – most people would be too drained to make use of it after being in Riko's care for any length of time. Maybe that's why some people do occasionally volunteer, they think they stand a chance."

Neil thought a moment longer before he added, "Would you let me try to fix your talent, Andrew?" It was a dangerous prospect; adjusting the tuning of someone else's aura required patience, skill, and experience to be successful. Neil had some of each of those, but he was no expert. Nearly everyone had some degree of magical talent, it was used as the basic fuel of their world for everything from lighting fires to cook with or to manipulate into intricate artisanal products like jewelry or weapons. But to have it was not the same thing as understanding how to work with it and Neil’s proposition led to all kinds of questions and potential pitfalls.

It was somehow both the wrong and the right thing to say – it was out of character for Neil to offer and seemed too convenient to Andrew who immediately suspected a trap, but if it worked, the reward was nearly irresistible. Not being able to use their magic while imprisoned left them vulnerable; a situation that to Andrew in particular was intolerable. If he could have it back, well…it was temptation embodied, wasn’t it?  Andrew seemed to be immobile for a moment he was so still, almost becoming part of the darkness in his all-black clothing.

Neil didn't need to see Andrew's face to know he was being evaluated and that he stood little chance of actually fending Andrew off if the other man should decide to attack him. There was something telling there, that his improved injuries had left him too tired to protest a new threat, but Neil could only wait to see what Andrew would do.

For his own part, Andrew's brain was racing through possibilities and contingency plans. He weighed the potential threat to Kevin and the others in his family against the chance of gleaning a way to regain the use of their talents against their captors. He knew why Kevin couldn't use his, the magic that was embedded in his tattoo was as good as a set of manacles – Tetsuji had foreseen the eventuality of Kevin trying to escape some day and taken steps to ensure he could never truly raise a hand or spell against the Moriyama family.

But none of the others had such a tattoo and they didn’t know why they couldn’t access their talents here. Even Kevin had been confused; he’d assumed it was simply a matter that the Ravens were generally stronger talents than their prisoners, not that those who were conscripted for the Trials couldn’t use magic at all.

Before he accepted, Andrew had questions and he had already decided that if he didn’t like the answers, he would finish Neil himself and let the guards sort out the pieces in the morning. For Neil to have already landed on his radar when he’d spent most of their acquaintance thus far unconscious was not a good sign as far as Andrew was concerned.

“A generous offer in a place like this. Tell me about yourself, Neil. Do you have experience with aura tuning?”

Neil hesitated, he correctly suspected he needed to proceed cautiously. “Some. My mother was good at it and she explained the process to me. But I’ve only practiced on my own.”

Andrew’s nod wasn’t really seen so much as Neil could sense the movement. “And in what circumstances did you do that? No need to be shy, I won’t tell anyone.”

Already regretting his suggestion, Neil tried to figure out how he could answer without really revealing anything. Nobody messed with their own auras unless they were grievously hurt or trying to learn a new application of their gift. Even those situations were rare since dedicated healers and teachers existed to address such needs. The more likely reason was that someone was on the run and trying not to be found. Just because it was true didn’t mean Neil wanted to admit to it.

“My mother and I were frequently on the move, finding help wasn’t always an option. We learned to do for ourselves.”

“Past tense. Is that because you don’t imagine leaving here alive? Or is it an indication your mother isn’t alive to mourn your imminent death?” It should have been stated cruelly, but Andrew’s inquiries were rather blank – as if he attached no significance to either Neil’s mortality or that of his mother.

“She’s dead. That’s why I’m in Evermore. I was trying to pass through to the north to find my uncle. He’s the only family I have left.”

Andrew’s fingers were idly tracing patterns on the stone floor, lost in a private war apparently. At last, it might have been minutes or hours, he shrugged and laughed a little. “I better take you up on the offer, hadn’t I? I doubt even this miraculous use of talent will see you alive tomorrow and I don’t want to waste the chance if it turns out you can do this.”

It shouldn’t have been funny, Neil had invested too much blood and pain in pursuit of staying alive to cavalierly accept the notion of being dead tomorrow, but Andrew’s utter lack of grace about it was a relief in a way. His chuckle was rusty, too long disused and his throat too raw to really manage the sound successfully.

“Alright then, I’ll get started.” Neil closed his eyes but a small smile was on his face.

Andrew interrupted with a sarcastic, “No instructions to clear my mind and focus on a happy place?”

Neil’s smile got bigger even though he didn’t open his eyes. “I don’t deal in happy places and somehow I don’t think you do either. Focus on whatever you want, I’m not a professional so you’ll have to excuse the absence of niceties.” He was reaching out with his energy, trying to hone in on Andrew’s. He’d only deliberately tried to connect with his mother’s energy before, he knew how to do it, but he was unprepared for the feeling when he locked onto Andrew’s.

His mother’s aura had been brittle and sharp – insured against most sentimentality but fiercely proud and defiant as she moved through the world. Touching Andrew’s aura was like being thrust into icy fire, the combined rage and darkness that rose to meet Neil’s questioning senses was so volatile that Neil only barely caught the immense well of protectiveness and loyalty that was underneath it. Neil was glad he was sitting, he doubted he could have handled this surprising intensity otherwise. Whatever was keeping all of this under lock and key had to be strong, Andrew’s talent was hardly a meek and mild thing.

Andrew could feel Neil’s aura, too. He sensed a bone-deep loneliness, a thread of fear, a detached pragmatism that would discard most things as useless, and interestingly, a cloudlike mask that wouldn’t let Andrew see past it. Andrew was tempted to force Neil’s aura away from his own when he sensed that hidden quality but he risked it – if Neil started to exude any malice, Andrew had just enough defenses to stop him.

Neil worked slowly, clumsily to anyone with formal training, but with the shrewd capability born of desperate times. He did not try to go beneath the surface to pry into any of Andrew’s secrets or talents; it wasn’t his business and he rather strongly suspected that Andrew would exact swift reprisal for such nosiness. He felt his forehead break out in sweat and it was as if an all-encompassing weariness settled over him, but Neil kept pushing, trying to find what was wrong. Whoever had blocked their talents had been careful, it wasn’t combined with a lock on their physical capacities, which may explain why spectators didn’t realize any of the participants in the Trials were doomed from the start.

Finally, after a span of time neither of them could have named, Neil found what he was looking for – an angrily pulsing shackle of binding energy. Andrew could feel Neil’s surprise at seeing it and he made a note to ask about that. There was an awful, blinding pressure in Andrew’s head when Neil attacked the knot in his aura and Andrew had to grit his teeth not to lash out at Neil in response, but his patience was rewarded when Neil finished. Andrew didn’t even have to check, he suddenly felt more like himself than he had since he’d been arrested. His gift was back.

Andrew indulged himself with creating a small orb of light to hang between them. It let him see Neil’s face, pale and sweaty with eyes larger than they should be.  Neil was gasping and shaking as if his body had been seized by an otherworldly chill and he frantically closed the link between himself and Andrew. Andrew still caught wind of his utter panic as the link was forcibly shut down – Neil would have run if there’d been an open door.

Rather than waste time inquiring as to Neil’s well-being when it was easy enough to see he was distressed, Andrew went in another direction. “Question, Neil. Why were you surprised when you found the block? You knew there would be something like it, so why the shock?”

Neil shook his head, not denying Andrew an answer, but buying time to process his thoughts. Andrew knew the difference and waited him out, not quite as patiently as he’d been before. His body was adjusting to the newly restored flow of magic and his skin suddenly felt too tight, or as if there were thousands of tiny, irritating pricks all over him. It was a welcome discomfort as it signaled a turn in the tide for Andrew.

Neil’s voice was a shallow, dead echo of what it had been before. “It’s a spell I recognized. My father had our – my mother’s and mine -  magic bound like that sometimes when he thought we’d disobeyed him so we couldn’t protect ourselves or do any healing afterward.  I didn’t think he was still here.”

Andrew’s eyebrows rose briefly in acknowledgement of that tidbit. “Here, at Evermore?”

Neil nodded and then immediately shook his head. “Yes, he worked for the Moriyamas. But no, I thought he was dead. I thought he’d died after he killed my mother. I would never have come here if I’d suspected he was still alive…” He trailed off and the hopelessness that flooded his voice caught Andrew’s attention. Neil hadn’t been particularly distraught yesterday when he’d learned where he was, and even after the pain Riko had meted out, Neil had seemed even-tempered. It was only now, faced with the possibility that his father was alive that Neil finally acted like someone who was in trouble.

“But you wanted to find your uncle, didn’t you? You’d have had to risk it eventually.” Andrew’s tone wasn’t sympathetic; he was simply wary of how this might change things for him.

Neil didn’t address that, merely shrugged. Instead he pointed to the others that were behind Andrew. “The spell is tied to your family or ranking emblem. That’s why it didn’t work on me, I don’t carry one. My mother and I both tossed ours when we escaped from my father, and then we avoided authorities whenever we could since its illegal not to have one. Once the spell is in place though, it isn’t just a matter of taking off the insignia, you have to destroy the mental knot like I did with you. That’s easy enough, just connect your aura to whoever you’re working on until you find the dark spot, visualize an attack on it, and send your energy in its direction. The spell’s effective only when there’s nobody to free you, once that’s taken care of, it’s not that difficult to work around.”

Andrew stared heavily at him, “Why are you telling me that?”

Neil smiled, it held an edge of hysteria. “You should be able to unlock at least one of your friends each night. Maybe more since you were already able to push through the sleeping potion’s effects. Then they can probably fix someone, too. In one, maybe two, days you’ll all be free to use your talents. You can escape, if you don’t change the way you’ve been acting so far, they’ll have no reason to suspect I helped you.”

“Why aren’t you including yourself in that escape, Neil?” Andrew could sense there was something Neil wasn’t telling him and he didn’t like it. He considered summoning one of his trademark energy blades in an attempt to force the answer from Neil, but discarded the option when he took in the look on Neil’s face. Neil was scared of something besides Andrew.

“He expects his father to kill him tomorrow.” Kevin’s voice was so unexpected that Neil jumped as if a canon had been fired. He hadn’t been aware that Kevin had approached them, a sure sign his nerves were frayed.

Andrew didn’t turn to look at Kevin as he asked, “Kevin, what an unexpected pleasure. Why would you say such a thing? And how are you awake?”

Kevin took a seat between Andrew and Neil, taking advantage of the light Andrew had summoned to look at Neil again who was studiously avoiding catching Kevin’s gaze. “I don’t know why, however, I suspect it’s something to do with the two of you. I felt a sensation, I can’t describe it exactly, but it woke me up and then I saw your light over here.”

Andrew nodded agreeably as if he understood. “Neil removed the restriction on my magic, you probably felt a reverberation of that.” He pointed at Kevin imperiously. “Now, answer my other question. Why did you say that about his father?”

Kevin folded his legs up against his chest and braced his chin atop his knees, wrapping his arms around them. Even so he kept his attention on Neil. “Neil…or is it Nathaniel?”

The silence that descended was heavy and oppressive, broken only by Neil’s panicked gasps. Andrew, who had disliked Kevin’s unexpected fascination with Neil from the start, found this encounter especially irritating.

“Kevin? Explain, now.”

Sensing he had pushed Andrew’s patience as far as he could, Kevin obediently turned his head to look at Andrew instead. “I was listening when he explained about his father using that spell. He doesn’t look the same as I remember him, but I think he’s Nathaniel Wesninski – son of the Butcher. The energy feels similar anyway.”

Neil felt a coldness tighten in his chest at Kevin’s words and he was so lost in his own misery he was unprepared for Andrew’s gleeful laugh to intrude on his thoughts.

“Oh, is this true? How unexpectedly entertaining. Are you who he says?” He sounded as carefree as if they were discussing whether to take a jaunt into town or raid the kitchens for a snack.

Nathan Wesninski’s name was infamous throughout Moriyama territory, but that fear extended into other lands, too. Neil and his mother had fled to the remotest areas trying to find a safe haven, moving regularly any time they suspected Nathan might be close to finding them. It was rare indeed for anyone to hear his name and find it diverting.

That shock gave Neil just enough incentive to answer, softly and not nearly enough to the point, “I don’t go by Nathaniel anymore.” It wasn’t quite an admission but hearing it seemed to wring another delighted smile from Andrew and a worried frown from Kevin.

Kevin shot a disapproving look at Andrew before he focused on Neil again. “Your father is alive but he isn’t here. He was captured by a rival family and is being held to encourage more favorable negotiations. I doubt Riko will recognize you if you can hold off using your talent around him.”

Andrew _tsked_ at Kevin as if he’d forgotten something. “And how is he to explain his rather improved health then, Kevin?”

Kevin spread his hands to indicate he didn’t have an answer and Andrew’s self-satisfied hum of acknowledgment won him no favors with either Kevin or Neil.

Andrew seemed to have forgotten the two of them, content to amuse himself with a series of magic tricks that culminated in a small dagger in his hand that he began twirling absently through his fingers. Neil didn’t mean to, but his eyes were compulsively following the blade’s movement, he wasn’t a fan of knives as a general rule. Catching Neil’s expression, Andrew laughed before vanishing the weapon.

With a cheerful smile, Andrew stood and turned to the others. “You said I should be able to free at least one of them, right, Neil? Let’s see who we can wake up.” Surprisingly, to Neil at least, he headed for Renee first. Neil had gotten the impression the two groups avoided each other but Andrew’s steps were steady and assured as he made his way to her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *awkward penguin shuffle* Seem like an abrupt chapter ending to you? It is, I had posted a much longer version of this chapter, but I decided to cut it in half. Chapter 5 will consist of that portion - my apologies if you read it twice!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of chapter 4, moved to a new chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If you read chapter 4 when it was first published, then chapter 5 will look familiar. I just decided chapter 4 was way too long and broke it in half. Chapter 6 will be new content. My apologies if you got caught in the window between the initial chapter 4 update and the split! (~_~;)

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 5

* * *

 

Neil looked at Kevin in question but he received only a shrug in response. They both turned to watch as Andrew knelt near Renee, but they could only see his back and missed whatever he did to wake her. The two of them exchanged only a few words before Renee was up and following Andrew back to where Neil and Kevin had stayed.

When they sat again, Renee’s face was illuminated by the light Andrew had summoned earlier. She looked serene for all that she’d been rudely awakened, but there was an element to her composure that raised Neil’s hackles again. He didn’t know why, but something about this woman set him on edge. Renee turned to look at him, her smile real and amused, but she did not call him out on his reaction.

Andrew was smiling as if he had a surprise planned that he couldn’t wait to share with them. He pointed to Renee while looking at Neil, “I just imagine destroying the lock when I find it and send energy for that purpose, right?”

Neil nodded, confused. “Yes. It’s a strong binding spell, but it’s meant to be temporary so it dissolves with a deliberate outside intent to destroy it.”

Tilting his head and rubbing his hands together, Andrew turned back to Renee. “Neil assures me you don’t have to focus on happy places for this to work, Renee, so do me the favor of trying not to – would you?”

A soft, musical laugh was her response as she nodded, and then Renee confirmed it with a light, “I will do my best.”

Then there was no laughter or smiling as Andrew apparently got straight to work. Neil winced as Renee’s face tightened slightly, it was true the technique needed to fix this wasn’t sophisticated, but he rather suspected that Andrew’s aura was even harsher now that his magic wasn’t restrained. He didn’t envy Renee for having to handle it.

Moments later, Andrew was a quick study it seemed, Renee let out a hoarse gasp – but then there was a flare of light that seemed to make a rainbow and Neil himself struggled to believe his eyes as the colors settled down to the ends of her hair and stayed there.

Andrew’s next comment was triumphant, “Neil, meet Renee. She’s a renewal talent.” The gleam in his eyes was fierce, angry, and promised a reign of terror for all those who got in his way. “We can free everyone tonight with her help.”

Renee’s pleased, “If both you and Neil can unlock one more person each, then we’ll have enough to cycle more quickly” was so full of genuine optimism it was nearly overwhelming. She sent Neil another smile. “My talent isn’t renowned for offensive capabilities, but I’m a hell of an asset for defense.”

Neil was dumbfounded; renewal talents like Renee’s were usually snapped up by royal households to ensure longevity and prosperity – they could be applied to any number of situations depending on their training. He looked at her with a thousand questions in his eyes but was unable to voice any of them.

She sensed some of what he wanted to know and shrugged. “I wouldn’t have worked for Riko anyway, but I may have misled them slightly about the nature of my skills when I was arrested. I said I was a mid-range negotiation talent; which is true enough.” She laughed. “It’s just not all I am.”

Andrew’s “Let’s save the chatter for when everyone is awake to enjoy it,” was an oddly cheerful scold. He pointed to Neil, “You better recharge him first, I almost think I can recover enough on my own, at least once.”

Renee’s fond, “Andrew never likes to rely on anyone” preceded her focus on Neil. “Now Neil, I must ask, will you let me help you?”

Everything in Neil’s body screamed at him to refuse, he didn’t trust this woman and he surely didn’t want to let her in his aura, but he tamped down the initial rise of panic and tried to think it through rationally. As it stood, his best chance of survival at the moment was in numbers – numbers that could well be within his reach if everyone was reconnected to their magic. He didn’t have to like it, that was simply the way it was. His eyes flickered around the dungeon as if searching for answers before they landed on Andrew again. Andrew had a half-smile in place, its edge was dismissive of all of Neil’s protests because he knew the same thing Neil did; it wasn’t a matter of _if_ Neil would agree, but _when_.

Swallowing against the dryness in his throat Neil nodded miserably. “Yes, please.” It nearly killed him to say it, but Neil knew this wasn’t Renee’s choice either, they were allies by their circumstances, not their inclinations.

Andrew was laughing at him as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Oh I bet that hurt, didn’t it Neil? Don’t worry, Renee will be gentle. She’s not out for your secrets either.”

Renee sent a look of mild reproof at Andrew along with a calm, “You’re hardly in a position to talk, Andrew.” He responded with a cheerful wave that neither confirmed nor denied her implication.

Ignoring Andrew for the moment, Renee looked back at Neil. “Just focus on your breathing if you can. This works best if you don’t pay attention to me.”

It should be easy, but Neil had spent too long trying to pay attention to everyone around him, gaging potential reactions and evasive maneuvers if someone came after him. He knew he couldn’t look at her and stay still, so he ignored a long-ingrained habit and closed his eyes even though he knew others were looking at him. He didn’t know if she moved closer to him or not, but Neil soon felt something that felt like a cool, bracing wind sweep through him. He sensed the razor-sharp edge of Renee’s energy as she worked and it wasn’t what he’d expected. She’d chosen to use her talent to help him, but she could bleed him dry if she chose and Neil was hyperaware of that.

Once she finished, too quickly for Neil to truly believe, Neil immediately opened his eyes. He caught just a glimpse of something hollow and blank on Renee’s face before she cleared it in favor of another serene smile. Neil didn’t know whether that expression came from her contact with his aura or if was a more natural one for her that she hid – either way, he felt somehow apologetic.

Andrew stood again, nearly bouncing with an energy that Neil didn’t understand. “Right, who’s next?” He seemed to ask it of the open room itself, he certainly wasn’t looking at either Kevin, Neil, or Renee.

Renee’s suggestion, “Why not have Neil try Matt and you get Nicky?” was as good as anything and Andrew nodded, heading for his cousin.

Neil stood, feeling steadier than he had before and he was surprised, glancing down at his body to check himself.

Renee answered his unspoken question, “Your body wanted to heal, once I gave you a boost it could finish the task it had been set. Freeing Matt’s talent shouldn’t be as draining as Andrew’s was.”

He stared at her unblinkingly for a moment before she made a waving motion with her hand. “Go, go. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Spurred onward, he went over to where Matt was sleeping, his face looked peaceful despite his surroundings. In the background, Neil heard Nicky’s pained “OUCH ANDREW, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?” and assumed that Andrew hadn’t been as gentle rousing his cousin as he’d been with Renee.

Neil didn’t bother waking Matt up first. He knew what he was looking for now and it was easier for him if Matt wasn’t awake to ask questions or accidentally reach out with his own magic while Neil worked. Matt’s aura was open, honest, and filled with the type of genuine kindness that Neil hadn’t encountered in a long time despite the wide swathes of shadows and pain that rippled through Matt’s energy. It made the toxicity of the binding magic even more obscene somehow and Neil was relieved when he could no longer sense the cruel intent of the inhibition spell within Matt.

He backed away, surprised to find Renee watching him. She smiled and it held thousands of secrets that Neil didn’t ever want to know. She got up and moved to stand beside him.

“You didn’t wake him first.” Not a question, though Neil heard one there all the same.

“It’s easier for me if they’re asleep.”

Renee nodded as if she understood far more than he was telling her. “I’ll wake him and explain. He can wake Dan and then Dan will get Allison. Go sit with Kevin, he’s waiting for you.”

Neil was reluctant to return to Kevin’s side and instead looked over to where Andrew was finishing with Nicky. “Why didn’t he wake Aaron first?”

Renee followed his gaze and tilted her head in thought. “Andrew and Aaron have a difficult relationship. It will be easier for Aaron if someone else besides Andrew is the one that has access to his aura. Andrew knows that, so he’s taking care of it.”  
  
There was a story there, but Neil didn’t have the right to it. He nodded he understood and left her to wake Matt and explain what was required. It took more courage than he anticipated to return to Kevin, sinking down on the floor near him wasn’t much easier.

Kevin looked straight ahead, Neil was only in his peripheral vision but even so, Neil had little doubt that Kevin was keeping perfect track of his whereabouts.

“You left.” Equal parts accusation and inquiry, Kevin’s simple words were loaded with the short, but unforgettable, history between them when they were children.

Neil tried to hide his flinch but didn’t quite succeed. “He was going to kill us both.” He – his father, Tetsuji, Riko – it didn’t matter who exactly Neil meant, there’d been a line, with Neil and his mother as the prize in front of it.

Kevin nodded. “Yes.” He turned and Neil was caught with the full force of Kevin’s stare; it held traces of emotions too complex for Neil to separate at the moment, but he saw the years of pain eating away at Kevin’s soul.

Neil looked away first. He wasn’t proud that Kevin had suffered in his absence, but he hadn’t been as valuable to Riko’s family as Kevin had been. There was little chance that Neil would have survived this long if he’d stayed. They needed to say so much more to each other, but this wasn’t the moment for it.

It didn’t take much longer before everyone was awake and adjusting to the sensation of their magic coursing freely through their bodies again. Everyone except Kevin that is. Several of them sent up small orbs of light of their own and soon the dungeon was filled with a warmth that had long been missing. Neil found himself staring at Kevin’s tattoo with undue fascination in the newly available light.  His binding wouldn’t just be a psychic lock; it was literally in his skin. Neil didn’t know how to work around that.

Allison, however, did. She pursed her lips accusingly at Neil, as if chiding him for making her worry in the first place. And then she followed his gaze to see him looking at Kevin.

Going over to Kevin with long, seemingly angry strides, she gripped his chin and forced him to look at her. Andrew took a menacing step forward but she just rolled her eyes at him.

“I can use my mimicry skill to replace this with a look-alike if we can get the original spell weak enough to remove.” She released Kevin and straightened, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Andrew again. He returned her stare with a cool, challenging one of his own but she grew impatient with him and gestured toward Kevin.

“You’re linked to him, aren’t you?” It was too cryptic a comment for Neil to understand, but the delighted reactions of those around him indicated more clearly than words that he was in the minority there.

Andrew was silent, clearly thinking about whatever Allison had meant. He turned to Neil, “You do it.”

Neil didn’t have feign his confusion and he stared blankly at Andrew, his lack of comprehension easily read on his face.

Aaron, in the first words he’d addressed to Neil so far, explained – but his exasperated tone relayed his incredulity that Neil wasn’t keeping up. “Kevin’s spell is different from ours, it’s nearly impervious to attack because it’s intertwined with Kevin’s being, not just a lock at the top of his talent. They want to trick the binding spell into thinking it needs to be on Andrew, rather than Kevin. It’s attuned to Kevin’s energy, so it’ll be weak enough to destroy if it’s transferred to Andrew. They need you to bridge between Kevin and Andrew; essentially you’ll coax some of the magic in Kevin’s tattoo to Andrew and we can remove it from Andrew’s side.”

Neil was shaking his head before Aaron even finished. “I don’t know how to do that, I can’t.”

Andrew’s harsh, “But you’re going to, Neil. Renee can’t, her talent would only reinforce the strength of the binding spell even against her wishes, and you’re the only other person here that’s familiar with both mine and Kevin’s energy. I’m not volunteering for anyone else to go trampling through my aura so you win by default, lucky you. Believe me when I say I’m not happy about it either, but this isn’t about what makes us happy, is it? It’s how we get out of here and survive and you of all of us should be on board with that plan,” hit Neil directly in the gut but he couldn’t refute Andrew’s claims.

Neil’s exhale held defeat and the victory in Andrew’s eyes was brief, but real.  Dan cleared her throat in an unsubtle bid to dispel the tension from Andrew’s words.

“I think if all three of you were seated closer to one another?” She offered it delicately, perhaps in an effort to get the task over with.

Andrew grinned, but it was angry rather than happy and he sat down near Kevin and Neil with an air of challenge that indicated he was preparing for a battle more than anything else.

Kevin looked at both of them, a rare expression of uncertainty on his face. “I don’t know if this will work, but thank you both for trying.”

Neither Andrew or Neil responded – the moment too awkward for them – and instead Renee chimed in, with her ever-serene-voice, “Neil, just start like you did with Andrew, alright? But when you find the spell, don’t attack it. Andrew will be waiting for you to find it and when you do, he can help you with the transfer.”

Neil was not as confident it would be so simple but he shrugged his understanding and closed his eyes, sending out a tentative reach of his energy toward Kevin. It was immediately apparent this was not the same as the others. Kevin’s aura didn’t have the intensity of Andrew’s, but it had a startling defense that barred anyone from getting through with painful, flashing energy whips. Neil instinctively recoiled, he didn’t want to try again, but he could feel Andrew waiting, it was like having a giant predatory cat stalking back and forth in his mind, poised to make its move at the first chance it had.

Gritting his teeth, Neil pushed forward, the pain growing stronger and distracting him. Suddenly he sensed Andrew’s energy barreling through their link and the cat that he knew was Andrew was at his side. It steadied him for some reason, but Neil didn’t consider himself out of danger yet, and when there seemed to be a deliberate pause in the spell’s attacks, it made him worry. The whips changed to waves that poured over him with a malice that was everything Neil remembered of his father. Suddenly his nerves and memories were reliving old wounds and injuries, the catalogue of pain too specific for Neil not to want to vomit as his shoulder burned from the blistering press of an iron heated over coals pushed against his skin or the sharp, searing slices of knives and swords over his arms and abdomen. 

Neil felt like he was crawling, scrambling trying to find something solid to hold on to, when the giant cat he thought of as Andrew’s energy seemed to stare at him with the dismissive disinterest that would have been funny if he’d had the presence of mind to think about it. Andrew seemed to raise a giant paw and smash through the waves. Andrew didn’t care about the pain, he flicked his tail as if it were the most minor of annoyances and Neil couldn’t contain his relief when that seemed to be enough to get it to stop.

At the corner of his awareness, Neil could hear voices talking, low and worried, but he didn’t have the energy to spare for them at the moment. He pressed forward, with the cat at his side, until finally they reached the point in Kevin’s aura that held his own spell. Neil was stunned into forgetting his own pain when he saw it. Tetsuji had woven compulsion, obedience, fear, pain, isolation, and a host of other dreadful emotions into Kevin’s tattoo – they were all designed to keep Kevin docile, obedient, and helpless to do anything but what he was told. Just behind it was the fragile, barely-breathing sense of who Kevin could be without this inside of him, but it was frail to the point of almost not being there – Kevin’s attempt at leaving them was too recent, and his identity as anything other than Riko’s too nascent, for it to be real yet.

Neil heard what sounded like a growl and turned to look at the cat-that-was-Andrew. Andrew was furious, it was too blatant to miss. Neil stared at the spell work, amazed by its intricacy and complexity. He had no idea how to trick this into going for Andrew instead. He stared sharply at the cat, seeing something – a part of Andrew that wasn’t Andrew, was this the link Allison had meant?

He didn’t have the chance to ask because Andrew was staring back at him in silent demand. Neil nodded and reached out with his own talent, Andrew’s cat seized hold of it and connected it to the part of him that bound him to Kevin. It took only a moment, but the spell suddenly sensed another Kevin, and it flew down the trail they’d left for it with an alacrity that was terrifying.

The darkness plunged into Andrew’s spirit form with vicious intent and Neil, feeling only the echo of impact, was still nearly doubled over in agony. He didn’t know how Andrew managed to stay so focused, but Neil knew it hadn’t been something easily won. He didn’t envy Andrew that experience.

Now that the spell thought it should stay with Andrew, too, it was stretching to keep hold of both of them. But the end that was attached to Andrew looked noticeably weaker – as if Andrew’s energy was already devouring it. The spell hadn’t been ingrained with any sense of self-preservation, it couldn’t release Andrew when he felt like Kevin. But Andrew couldn’t afford to let it slowly whither, they needed something more decisive.

Suddenly inspired, Neil started searching in Kevin’s aura for the portion that was like Andrew – his end of their connection. When Neil found it, he used an aspect of his talent that was handy for getting people to see only what he wanted them to and magnified the part of Andrew that Kevin held. It made the spell visibly flicker and hesitate, confused as to why its host was suddenly different. Neil could feel the wry approval that Andrew sent his way as he understood what Neil was doing.

Kevin suddenly didn’t seem like Kevin, but Andrew did, and the spell was specifically designed to keep Kevin in thrall. It was no wonder the energy seemed to flow toward Andrew and try to wrap itself around him as it had done with Kevin. Neil could feel Kevin’s magic slowly being cleansed, and as it did, he got stronger until he too, was helping push the spell out of himself and into Andrew.

When the last had been transferred, Neil and Andrew both dropped their illusions and broke their connection with Kevin. The volatile recoil was instantaneous but suddenly there were more energies present, and Neil could feel the others lending them strength to finish. It was a bizarre, alien feeling to Neil, but as he soaked up the combined determination and support, he realized why his mother had warned him against relying on others – this was a dizzying, intoxicating rush, and he couldn’t get used to it.

It was far too quiet when Neil opened his eyes again – he thought he might have gone deaf – but it was the sheer stunned looks that everyone sported which clued him into the reality. They were simply exhausted, triumphant, but exhausted. Kevin’s tattoo was gone. His cheek unmarred by the signature ink he’d sported for as long as anyone could remember. He looked different too. It wasn’t just the disconcerting effect of the tattoo’s absence, he seemed, _more_ , somehow – as if that fragile thing Neil had witnessed inside of him had rushed to maturity in a matter of moments.

That confidence didn’t last, not exactly anyway. How could it? Kevin had been bound almost his entire life, he would need more than the freedom to use magic to cope with such an upset in his worldview. His shoulders were trembling – whether in rage, grief, joy, or something else it was hard to say, but nobody intruded while he struggled to put himself back together.

When he finally took a shuddering breath and raised his head again, Kevin was somewhere between the stunted person who’d belonged to the Moriyamas and the fearsome creature full of potential they’d all caught a brief glimpse of. He had the freedom to simply _be_ , and for now, that was more than enough.

And then it was time to discuss, to construct a battle plan, and hastily sketch out the details of an escape that seemed suddenly, terrifyingly possible.

“The biggest problem is him,” Allison pointed at Neil as if he’d deliberately caused trouble rather than begun their reclamation of freedom in the first place.

Dan nodded. “I know what you mean, we can’t explain this, can we?” She looked at Neil appraisingly, trying to decide on a course of action.

Andrew, who hadn’t quite forgiven Neil for keeping secrets in the first place, offered with a blithe glee that was only halfway joking, “We could just restore his injuries to him. Easy, problem solved.”

“Allison’s already going to do a mock-up of Kevin’s tattoo, can we just go for the…illusion of his injuries?” Nicky’s suggestion was hasty, trying to draw attention away from Andrew’s rather callous idea.

Aaron scoffed at him, “Sure he can look the part, but if he doesn’t _act_ injured it will only be worse for him, and for all of us, naturally.” He turned a stern eye toward Neil. “How good of an actor are you? Confident enough to risk all of our lives on your ability to seem hurt?”

It was a lost cause and they knew it before Neil even bothered to shake his head in denial of such skill.

“It’s almost morning.” Kevin’s observation seemed apropos of nothing until he followed it up with, “It’s Dan’s group today for training, so Riko and the master will come for Neil in the afternoon. If Neil pretends to be unconscious during breakfast, we might have enough time to build credibility on a version of the truth.” He paused and looked at Allison, something in his gaze indicating that what he was about to ask for wasn’t pleasant.

“Neil thinks the reason his magic wasn’t bound was that he doesn’t have a family or status emblem for the spell to activate through. If we could…borrow…one and fashion it to look like something appropriate for him, we might be able to blame it on the fact it got damaged before he was captured. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, they do need to be repaired sometimes. Then he can stick with the story of accidentally healing himself in his sleep. If they investigate, they’ll see for themselves his sigil is faulty and they won’t suspect there’s anything amiss with the rest of us or that Neil would have had time to do anything but heal overnight and in the morning.”

Allison stiffened and her hand went to the rings that dangled at her throat protectively. They had an extra ring, but it was Seth’s, and Allison had not let it leave her person since Riko had given it to her. It was the only proof left that Seth had ever existed, he’d been denied burial and instead his ashes had been disposed of without any ceremony.

Renee went to her, and carefully put an arm around Allison’s shoulders, drawing her close and murmuring something that might have been comfort or encouragement, but the awfulness of the moment was too much even for Andrew to make fun of and Seth had been his least favorite. When Allison lifted her head again there was a deadness in her eyes that made Neil want to avoid her at all costs.

She took off her necklace and carefully, painstakingly removed one of the rings before putting the now solitary ring back around her throat. Allison strode over to Neil with the anger of an avenging goddess bent on destroying some impertinent mortal. When she reached him Neil couldn’t look at her.

In a movement similar to how she’d handled Kevin earlier, she grabbed Neil’s chin and forced him to meet her gaze. “Do. Not. Lose. This. Do you understand me?” Her voice was tight, raw with a grief that had nothing to do with Neil but he felt it pierce him all the same.

He nodded and she let go of him and then opened her other palm, the indentation from her tight grip was plainly sketched on her skin. She stared down at it and took a deep, aching breath before she squared her shoulders and prepared to get down to business.

“What trade did you have? What rank are you claiming?” Allison was gifted with illusions, she could set one in place that you could touch, even taste, and believe it was real. Forging a ring for Neil was no trouble for her.

Matt’s interjection was cautious, carefully trying not to set Allison off. “He can’t be too high ranking, he was captured through a criminal informant without claim of a ransom, they won’t believe it if we make him one of the aristocracy now.”

Nicky hummed an agreement. “He can’t be one of the completely non-gifted either, he’s clearly got magic and that’s the only way this story will work. He needs a rank or trade that won’t raise too many eyebrows but would also explain how he came to be captured.”

“Neil, do you have any training or skills we could slightly exaggerate here?” Renee’s gentle interjection reminded them all that Neil was their best source of a false identity.

He thought for a moment before shrugging, “There’s no reason I couldn’t just be an unlucky orphan who was trying to make his fortunes in the city, is there? My trade could be un-apprenticed, a simple unaffiliated ring that would show I was looking for work?”

Andrew’s delighted chuckle was endorsement enough but he added to it, “A country bumpkin who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Neil? Some poor orphan from the territories having the temerity to try to defy him, oh yes, I rather think that would infuriate Riko enough to be worth it, don’t you?”

Dan chimed in her support, “It’s not a bad idea, really. It would explain why his ring was damaged and he couldn’t repair it yet; he wouldn’t have the wages to do so, would he?”

Although they traded critiques and pitfalls back and forth, there really wasn’t a better option and so Allison changed Seth’s ring to a plain band that had a small break near the mounting where his occupational identifier would eventually go. As someone posing as unaffiliated, the space was merely a placeholder. When she handed it to Neil, he was taken aback by how good her work was. He’d seen the ring as it was before, but even he couldn’t tell she’d altered it, the ring seemed as it should be – unremarkable and belonging to someone who had been careless and hadn’t yet fixed it.

She turned away from him then, ostensibly returning to her palette with a brusque, “Places, everyone. Our wakeup call won’t be too much longer.”

Neil followed them to his spot in the middle and when they were all settled down, he was surprised by Allison’s final whisper to him, “Good luck, Neil.”

It touched him in a way he didn’t anticipate and he offered her the only assurance he could, “I will take care of the ring, Allison. I promise.”

She didn’t answer him, it would have been cruel to expect her to, but Neil felt her acceptance of his words and he settled down to sleep – not having to fake his exhaustion in the least. He was not the only one to fall back asleep, but not all of them did. Others were awake, too tense and worked up by the unexpected boon of regaining their magic and trying to imagine their actual chances of defeating Riko now that they would be on even footing. The time until the guards returned was fraught with desperate, foolish wishes and the bitterness of remembered injustices. Through all of it, Kevin stared at a wall and realized that for the first time since his mother died, his name felt real to him. It was a crushing, humbling experience, and it gained traction in his mind with every passing moment – he wasn’t just Riko’s toy or the master’s pet, he wasn’t a Raven, or even his mother’s offspring – he was Kevin Day. And he maybe, just maybe, had a future, too.


	6. Chapter 6

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 6

* * *

 

The trouble with unexpected developments was that they by nature didn’t allow for enough time to consider all the potential implications. Variations of this concern raced through all of their minds as Dan’s group lined up for their turn with Riko while Andrew’s lot remained behind with Neil still pretending to be unconscious. As Neil kept his eyes screwed shut he could practically feel the others shooting furtive looks his way and he wished they would stop it – they would only draw attention to him that way.

When the guards finally escorted them out, Neil was relieved to hear Nicky’s, “They’re gone, Neil.”

Pushing himself up to sit, Neil immediately noticed something that he hadn’t given any thought to before. “How is it light in here?”  They were underground and there were no windows; given the fact the guards hadn’t been taken aback by the visibility, Neil realized there must be something to it.

Kevin provided the answer, “The master has a chronos-talent on staff. You probably haven’t been here long enough to notice, but time operates differently in the castle with longer days than nights. Light is kept magically on to ensure shorter sleeping times. That’s part of what makes the sleeping potion so effective, your natural rhythm is thrown off.”

Neil nodded his understanding and carefully stretched his limbs, testing for any remaining weakness and liabilities. There were a few twinges, but he rather suspected that was as easily due to the surface he slept on as it was the actual aftermath from yesterday. He made his way to a wall and sank down, taking comfort in having one to his back.

Catching a movement in his peripheral vision, Neil turned to look as Nicky approached, cradling something in his hand. “It’s not much but we saved some of the biscuits for you. I suppose you might be hungry enough not to mind how awful they are?”

If he could have refused them, he would have, but Neil hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning and his body had gone through a tremendous amount of energy last night.  He accepted the offered hardtack with a nod. “Thank you.”

Nicky arched an eyebrow at him. “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”

Neil gave a lopsided shrug in response. It had been difficult to remain still as the others consumed the morning porridge -as ghastly as the concoction was, it was still  nourishment his body sorely needed. That they had saved anything for him at all was unexpected, but Neil well remembered how hard these were and didn’t look forward to trying to eat them without water.

Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to try, Neil sent a small flare of his magic at the biscuits to warm them. Taking a cautious bite, he was rewarded with a slightly softened texture. He was grateful they were bland, his stomach was protesting the dry heaviness even as his brain retorted he should shut up and eat while he could.

He heard a resigned grunt before looking up and seeing Aaron hold out a stone cup to him. Shocked, Neil looked around to determine where it came from.

Growing impatient, Aaron shoved it toward him with an insistence that suggested he regretted his effort on Neil’s behalf.

“Where did this come from?” Neil had to ask, he knew the guards collected their utensils after each meal and there was no fountain here. He took a welcome sip, the water had a slightly mossy taste, but it was still clean and refreshing.

Aaron frowned and was clearly considering ignoring Neil. After a moment he lifted a shoulder. “Allison transformed a loose rock into the cup and gave it to me before the guards arrived. I’m an apothecary. One of my smaller talents is extraction, which is useful for all sorts of medical treatments. In this case even though we’re underground, there’s plenty of water in the air. I just condensed it into the cup.”

That explained the taste, but Neil was genuinely appreciative and thanked Aaron, who shook his head and went back to sit closer to his brother. Neil watched them briefly, they were both ignoring him now, but Aaron’s scowl and Andrew’s blankness were far from identical.

Nobody spoke while he ate but as soon as he finished Kevin picked up where they’d left off the previous evening.

“Neil, when they come to get you, they’ll probably take me with you. Your recovery will seem too suspect and they’ll assume I clued you in to how to get around the spell. It is vital you don’t let them know either who you are or how you really healed –”

Neil cut him off with an impatient wave of his hand, “I know, Kevin.” And he did. Neil’s first language was survival; you didn’t need to tell him that Tetsuji would be difficult to convince because Neil already knew it. Riko wouldn’t care about the truth of Neil’s words, he would ultimately accept his uncle’s verdict. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy testing Neil’s tolerance for interrogation, but that was another matter altogether.

Nicky’s hushed, “Should he pretend to be asleep at least?” was immediately overruled by Andrew.

“Ah, but Nicky, if he’s still asleep then _we_ get blamed for healing him. Nothing fair about it, but there you are.” Andrew seemed oddly cheerful with his pronouncement and Neil looked at him with suspicious concern.

Giving up on figuring Andrew out at the moment, Neil addressed Nicky instead. “Andrew’s right. Besides if I’m asleep it’ll only cause problems for getting me out of here. They’ll either drag me out or attempt to force me awake, it will be easier if I am conscious when they arrive.”

Nodding with something like satisfaction, Andrew made a waving motion with one hand. “I expect they’ll cut today’s training in order to get their hands on Neil. We’ve a few hours till they arrive at least, so a better question is how we’re going to make sure they bring him back here.” He sent a grin to Neil. “As opposed to deciding you’re too much trouble and simply killing you in the interrogation chamber.”

Nicky’s dismayed exhalation did nothing to dispel the truth of Andrew’s words. Neil met Andrew’s grin with silence and Andrew tapped two fingers against his temple in a salute that somehow said he’d won that round.

“Why aren’t your hair and eyes the same?” Kevin’s question made little sense to the cousins but Neil knew what he meant. Healing magic would usually revert any personal illusion charms – seeing them as alien and needing to be fixed. But Neil’s coloring wasn’t what Kevin remembered despite the intensive healing his magic had provided.

Neil pressed his lips together tightly for a moment before he answered. “More magic. Brown hair and eyes is an unremarkable combination throughout most of the territories. We adapted our appearances so they’d be nondescript.” While Neil didn’t reveal the rest of the secret, Kevil nodded as if he understood.

Although the other three in the dungeon listened, they didn’t interrupt this strange conversation, waiting to see what would result.

Kevin cupped his chin as he thought. Neil could tell he wouldn’t like Kevin’s idea even before it was spoken. “Can you change them back? Or at least your eyes?”

Neil glared at him. “Why would I want to do that, Kevin? Isn’t the point not to let them know who I am?”

Kevin’s nod was slow and considering. “Your hair darkening to brown as you grew up wouldn’t be remarkable, they wouldn’t care to investigate that. However, something about you will probably set the master off when they have you to themselves. The broken ring will explain the healing, but you’ll need another secret to surrender to prevent him finding out something worse.” He paused and looked away.

When he spoke again Kevin’s voice was quiet. “I don’t think you’ll be surprised that they’re going to torture you, Neil. It might not start there, but it won’t take long for the master to decide you’re hiding more than you’re saying. If you’re lucky he’ll simply set Riko on you. It will hurt, it will be excruciating in fact, but Riko prefers pure physical violence. If you can survive it, you can heal. The master will use that, too, but he also goes here,” Kevin tapped his forehead.

“If he starts digging around in your head…you’d be wise to have a safer secret toward the top.”

Neil felt a coldness grip his chest. He knew that variety of power and it would take more skill than Neil possessed to fend Tetsuji off in a long-term battle. Knowing Kevin was right didn’t make it any easier though, and Neil felt a swell of loss as he released the locked spell on his appearance. It was accompanied by a small sting as the magic he’d been keeping trapped in place for years was  finally relaxed.

He wasn’t surprised when Kevin tensed at seeing his eyes again – now with their true color restored. This shade of blue was rare and was most infamously found in Neil’s father’s eyes. Kevin had no good memories of Nathan Wesninski, either.

Perhaps it was Kevin’s flinch but the other three men turned their attention to Neil and registered the change in his eye color. Blue itself wasn’t so unusual, but Neil’s eyes were a shade so cold it seemed nearly otherworldly.

Nicky let out a low whistle, whether it was in admiration of Neil’s looks or understanding the implications of them wasn’t clear.

Aaron’s clipped, “That’s your natural color?” wasn’t envious. It was an aggrieved indictment that questioned Neil’s trustworthiness if something as basic as his eyes weren’t real.

“Neil is a thousand lies to a single truth, I’d say.” Andrew’s voice held a lilt that should have been cheery but it told Neil that any goodwill he’d earned the previous evening was wiped away.

Neil focused on Kevin and gestured upward to his face. “Still think this is a good idea?”

Kevin nodded and then immediately shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d forgotten what it was like. I haven’t seen your father in over a year but those eyes…” He trailed off but Neil knew what he was thinking: it was like Nathan Wesninski borrowed another’s face to stare at them all. There was no way Tetsuji or Riko would miss the clues between Neil’s age and those eyes, they’d figure out he was the Butcher’s son.

“Can you change the shade? Still let them find out you hid your appearance before, but not be honest about what it really is?” Nicky’s voice carried concern for Neil’s future but it wasn’t a bad idea – if, of course, Neil could do it.

Neil’s lips stretched into something between a grimace and a smile but he nodded. It was tricky magic, for all that it seemed simple. The key was fixing the spell to an unchanging point within his being so that he didn’t have to think of it, wouldn’t have the spell dissolve when he was in pain or asleep. In his mind’s eye, he darkened the blue, made it deeper and mixed with a hint of grey – something closer to a wintery lake than the pure ice of before.

Then he imbued it with a veracity that only a natural liar could imagine was necessary. Honest people didn’t understand this difference; they’d be found out for their trick within a moment’s probing no matter how seamless their magic was. This was the real test, could he run through his memories and recolor them all? He’d have to, he had no way of knowing how far back Tetsuji would go.

“Healing and illusion magic, how enterprising of you, Neil. Any other surprises?” Andrew was smiling and it was as real as Neil’s current coloring.

Neil didn’t answer Andrew, just shook his head before looking back at Kevin. “And you, Kevin? Can you keep this secret?”

Kevin chewed his lower lip as he considered. “I don’t know. I think it is likely they will ignore me entirely when they see this new development in addition to your recovery.”

Nicky translated, “No, but he doesn’t think he’ll have to since they’ll be too busy pulverizing you to worry about him.”

The nod Neil gave was resigned more than anything. He was no stranger to pain but that didn’t mean he’d relish this encounter. The silence that descended was somewhere between contemplative and tired. There was little true rest here in Castle Evermore and none of them had enjoyed easy lives before they’d arrived.

Neil was still busy cementing his magic throughout his memories. He could hear his mother’s voice in his head, reminding him not to overlook a passing reflection in someone’s viewing glass, or then, in an ominous whisper, her leading point that the four men who shared this new memory of his eyes had no reason to keep his secret. He gritted his teeth against the implication, he couldn’t run without their help – he had to trust them.

Lost to his own thoughts, Neil paid only minimal attention as Andrew moved to sit in front of him. Andrew didn’t interrupt, he seemed content to wait for Neil to finish his task for the moment, but Neil didn’t like the vaguely anticipatory look on Andrew’s face.

When he had retraced as many memories as he could fathom, Neil raised an eyebrow in silent question at Andrew.

Andrew’s look was intent, somehow both goading Neil and reassuring him. His voice flowed through the space between them in a maddening murmur, “Neil, hey, Neil? Before they come back for you, want to know why Riko killed Seth?” Andrew waited for Neil to answer but he didn’t seem discouraged when Neil only stared at him. If anything, the smile he shot Neil was appreciative.

Andrew’s soft, “Riko didn’t kill Seth because he had to. Seth wasn’t enough of a threat for that. He did it because he could. Riko had grown tired of Seth and used a petty excuse to kill him; it was more to see what they,” here he gestured vaguely to the side of the dungeon Dan’s group occupied, “would do in response. But he can’t do that again. He can’t kill you, not today.” Andrew grinned again before admitting, “Tetsuji could. But not if you stay interesting enough to keep alive.”

Neil waved at his face. “Kevin already covered that.”

Andrew shook his head. “No, not that. It’s a start, yes, but not enough. I think you, with your eyes always on escape routes and your hidden talents, know that in a way Kevin can’t imagine. He’s used to being in their thrall, but he’s also too famous to do away with quietly. You’re unknown, unclaimed, and unprotected. Show them something they’ll find enough potential in to keep you alive for the Trials. You just need to make it back tonight.”

There was no false modesty in Neil’s, “I don’t have something like that.” Neil’s entire life had been about not standing out, to suddenly need to prove himself extraordinary seemed impossible to him.

Andrew chuckled – it was a dark, humorless sound, “Find something. It’s there. We’re escaping tonight; in the interest of you having made that possible, I’d like you to come with us. But if you can’t buy yourself a single day, then there’s little enough point in you making it out anyway.”

He stood, and the light that sparked in Andrew’s eyes had little to do with genuine affability. “Something to lift your spirits, Neil?” He pointed to Neil’s empty cup and Neil could immediately smell the potent fumes that were familiar to him from pubs and taverns throughout the territories.

Neil shook his head, scooped the cup up and offered it to Andrew instead. “I don’t drink beer.”

Andrew’s nod was more to himself, as if he’d expected Neil’s comment. He took the cup from Neil’s hand and hid his smile as he took a quick sip. Pointing at Neil with the cup, Andrew murmured, “Going to lecture me?”

Neil blinked his surprise. “It’s your business.”

“Now, see? You can be interesting after all.” Andrew raised the cup in a brief salute before he drained it and sent Neil a sly look. “Do you know my primary talent, Neil?”

Neil started to just shrug but he saw the expression in Andrew’s eyes, this was a test. Almost anyone could use the small talents like heating up the hardtack earlier. But to know someone’s primary affiliation told you more than if they could make your meal more palatable; it meant you knew a reasonable range of their skills. He thought back, Andrew hadn’t been affected like the others with the sleeping potion, he’d known what Neil needed to do to help Kevin, and he had summoned intoxicants when he shouldn’t be able to. Neil looked up, “Aaron’s an apothecary by trade, he tries to heal and put things back together with medicine and magic in tandem. Are you his opposite? Are you a destruction talent?”

Andrew rocked slowly back and forth on his heels, running the rock cup around his hands. His expression went to the serious side as he looked at Neil before he flashed another smile. “After a fashion. I suppose it depends how you look at it. I can fix things, too.” He laughed. “But my approach isn’t his way.” He nodded once more and started to turn away but stopped to toss over his shoulder, “Do stay alive, won’t you, Neil?”

Neil didn’t answer the mockery of Andrew’s tone. But he did take the other man’s advice and began rooting through his memories and skills, looking for something else, something that would be enough to buy him a few more hours, enough to escape.

When Andrew returned to his usual area, Nicky sent him an inquiring glance. “Andrew?”

Andrew held out the cup, showing a small red mark on one side. Speaking quietly and passing the vessel to Nicky, “He drank from that side. Can your magic tell us more?”

Nicky had to stop himself from looking over at Neil, but he understood and nodded. “After they take him, I’ll look.” He hid the cup in one of the small niches in the wall for safekeeping, not particularly expecting the guards to even pay much attention to them once they saw Neil was awake.

Andrew nodded, satisfied and prepared to have his answers soon.

It wasn’t too much longer before the tell-tale sounds of Dan’s group returning echoed down the corridor. It was far too soon – from Neil’s perspective anyway – before guards were looking at him in surprise and hauling him away – their angry confusion a poor sign of what was in store. Kevin’s stoic expression as he was pushed and shoved alongside told Neil all he needed to know: they were in for a rough time.

For reasons he couldn't determine, the only image that Neil could keep fixated in his head was Andrew's single nod to him as he was pulled out of the cell. It wasn't encouragement or a taunt, it was something else, something more. Andrew had told him what Neil needed to do and Andrew was trusting Neil to do it. Neil's mind lit on the answer just as the guards jerked him to a halt in front of a high, thick door: Andrew's nod was a promise. If Neil did his part, Andrew would lend him the strength to keep going when he returned.

Neil's chest contracted and his head swam with confusion. He didn't understand Andrew, but there was just enough there for him to believe there was a chance. As the doors opened and they were shoved inside, he sent a silent wish for it to be enough.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, kind of a filler-ish chapter, sorry about that. anyway, next time: interrogation & escape - yay!  
> hope you liked the chapter :-)


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